Hallmark Christmas

Every year, for Halloween and Christmas, I get super involved in my town. What this actually means is that, about four years ago, I decided that I had to be the change I wanted to see. Growing up in this small town, there was never anything fun to do in the immediate area. I grew up hating this town because of it. Then it dawned on me that I was a part of the problem, because I wasn't doing anything to change it, either.

In a case like this, there's a beautiful quote I heard via a Youtube short a year or so ago: If you're not changing it, you're choosing it.

Another one I heard, of a similar vein, quite recently is: Everyone wants a village, but no one wants to be a villager.

I chose to change things, and I chose to start doing things I would have wanted to do as a child.

Now, for both major holidays, I do a Candy Guessing Jar and a coloring contest. Simple, easy things. It costs a little time, some money, and a whole lot of paper and toner. But they're small things that make me happy and they get the kids (and many adults) in town really excited.

For Christmas this year, I've finally upped the anty and done something I'd been considering for a long time: Mystery Elf Hide-n-Seek.

The game is simple: find the elf. Every day throughout December, this little guy will be moving throughout all of the customer-friendly parts of the store where I work. It is up to the customers to find his location and then report it on the back of this Urgent Elf Bulletin.

Honestly, it's one of the best ideas I've had and I've been wanting to do this for years.

Of course, I wanted it to be winnable only by those that got 30/31 days of December (Christmas is a Free Day since we are closed), but the boyfriend said that would be too difficult and it should just be for whoever found him the most. So I changed it a little bit.

Obviously, this is more of an adult-friendly game because kids can't drive themselves to the store (especially not in our weather), which is why the prize will be more adult-centered. Or, it's going to be one of those things where kids now insist on coming to the store with their parents and their parents, in turn, resent me for life.

I'm willing to take my chances.

Anywho, if anyone wants to nab this idea for themselves, I think this would be great, great fun. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this will be as fun as I think it is.

Now, that's not the only holiday shenanigans I've been up to, though I was more-or-less voluntold for this next part.

Glennie is finally getting a Hallmark Christmas!!

This is another thing I've been wanting for years. (Basically, I've been trying to build up to it since I first started the coloring pages and nonsense.) We have this giant pine tree beside the grocery store that I always thought would be perfect for a Tree Lighting Ceremony. Turns out, the town agreed with the idea, but not with the tree.

Earlier this year, my boyfriend acquired the corner lot in our small little town, and immediately began having ideas. Those ideas will take time (and money) to come to fruition. In the meantime, it's just sitting there.

Enter his longtime friend and fellow business-owner going, "Hey, when are you gonna do a tree lighting for us?" (Or something to that effect.)

Since my boyfriend's ideas are already quite selfless as to what he wants to do wtih this corner lot, I was miffed on his behalf. Why was it his responsibility to do this???? Thankfully, I wasn't there for that encounter, but my bf was able to hold his own and hint at his friend doing it himself.

Enter my MIL. A bussiness-owner. A member of the Township Board. And all-around powerhouse.

After having this conversation relayed to her, she got in touch with the friend. Asked him how he'd like to contribute. Then she put some bugs in a few ears and things expanded in the right direction. Now, thanks to her and Rue (another powerhouse), most of the business owners in our little town have come together, nailed down details, and set about giving the people of Glennie a Hallmark holiday.

I am so excited!

I'll be more excited once the planning and prepping is over and we get to enjoy the night itself. There will be a Santa with elves. Hot cocoa and cookies. Our local food truck is coming in with the hot meals. Burn barrels will keep the carolers warm. And, of course, the newly-planted pine tree will be lit up for the town to see. (Yes, my bf agreed to letting us plant a tree that we could use for years and years to come. He's a team player that way.)

One other thing that was set in motion (and that we severely underestimated) was a Tree of Rememberance. A couple of our local ladies had the idea of creating Christmas bulbs with names of lost loved ones on the tree. Another ambitious and talented young woman, Sara, stepped in with her cricut and decided to take on a huge chunk of this responsibility.

Somehow, I got roped into it. Through a relay message that didn't come from the source until days later. And I wasn't even at the meeting! Sara and I didn't even get added to the chat until weeks later.

(I'm laughing right now because my town reminds me of me when I started my nonsense. "We don't know what we're doing, really, but we'll wing it in the right direction!")

Anyway, now the three of them are chugging away at an endeavor that blew up beyong all imagining. Where we thought maybe there'd be fifty ornaments for the tree, now there are well over 100 and could be inching past 150. We've had to get a whole separate (artificial) tree just to hold them. It might not be big enough. Santa's gazebo might have a memorial garland going around it. This is all a little bit insane.

Somehow, though, it's not that unexpected. For much of its recent past, Glennie has been known as a retirement town. As one local once put it, our town is "God's little waiting room". Which means that a lot of people have come here to finish out their days, and it's no surprise they left behind enough people who want to memorialize them.

What's nice is seeing young families crop up here in recent years. (Covid really did send us more than a few people ready to escape city life.) So I look at all of this effort as worth it for the kids who will have these magical memories.

Before this year, I'd say there were very few villagers in my little town. I'm glad to say we're finally starting to build a village.