When the Austins first suggested having Christmas in the Okanagan, I was not convinced. I am a city girl, and I am used to spending the holidays in the city. For the past few years since I have been with Shane, we have done some sort of combination of spending time with my family and his, usually ending up with having Christmas dinner at the Austin house, and meeting later for Russian Christmas or Old New Year (yes, that’s a thing), with my parents in White Rock. That was the routine and I was pretty comfortable with it.
Now that I am older, Christmas has lost a little of its pure unadulterated joy because instead of just excitedly waiting for Santa to come, I in fact have to keep working right up until the holidays, while also attending various holiday events, and somehow still find the energy, during what are short, dreary, rainy, Vancouver December days to find and wrap thoughtful gifts for the whole family.
You can see how the thought of having even less time to get all of that done, so that we can be ready to go to the Okanagan a few days before Christmas, was frightening. But, my brother and sister in law do live there full time, and after some consideration, I came around to the idea. And I am so glad I did.
First of all, leaving home and driving the few hours instantly put me into a holiday headspace. What also helped was arriving to a snowy Peachland, something I have not previously experienced as I am usually there mostly in the summers. Walking along the lake in the evening, with a foot of snow on the sidewalks, and more falling was so peaceful, with streetlights illuminating yellow pools of snow.
Of course, the best part was just having the whole family together, as we ate lots and lots of treats, hung out in our pyjamas, watched Christmas movies, and (unsuccessfully) attempted a puzzle. Christmas morning was grander than ever, and Christmas dinner, hosted by Dean and Fadrina, was a warm and cozy affair.
My favourite memory of the holiday was playing Cards Against Humanity with everyone after dinner. Watching our parents come up with the most hilarious answers, sometimes not even realizing what they were saying, and then laughing so hard they were crying. This is a moment I will treasure forever.
