If Santa Claus happens to visit St. Albert next week, he will feel especially comfortable at the botanic park’s Christmas in October event. The entire gift shop will be open every day from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. from Oct. 15 to 23.
It is full of almost everything Saint Nick might want from warm apple cider to dangly reindeer and sparkling crystal tree decorations. It’s a Christmas shopper’s delight on a very small scale and it has a Victorian sentiment that makes everyone feel nostalgic the minute they walk through the door.
“We hope it is warm and festive and inviting,” said botanic park volunteer Diane Goodall, who for the past five years has organized this fundraiser for the park.
Goodall explained that the St. Albert Botanic Park is run completely by volunteers. Volunteers plant the roses and at this time of year, they dig up the dahlias and put them in cold storage for the winter. But her own committee is part of the overall fundraising gang. Last year the various fundraisers, including the rose and perennial sales, the wedding parties and the Christmas in October event, brought in approximately $40,000. The money goes to all the things needed to keep park operations going.
This year, the main focus at the botanic park will be to develop the Heritage Garden, said park volunteer Patricia Bell.
“We started this project as part of our 25th anniversary celebrations in 2015. We want to create a garden similar to what the St. Albert homesteaders might have had in the early 1900s, she said.
Goodall and her team of volunteers did their Christmas shopping at a special vendors’ show last February. Their goal was to bring in some new items as well as some old familiar favourites that they knew were bestsellers in previous years.
“We try to stay within the nature theme as much as possible because this is a park. So we have lots of little foxes and hedgehogs and birch-log candles. We have ornaments for outside, such as the stars that would look nice on a verandah, the wreaths or the painted spruce trees that are on stakes so you can stick them in the ground,” Goodall said.
Photos of the park itself were printed on calendars and on beautiful gift cards, so anyone wanting to share images of St. Albert with former residents will have an obvious and easy gift to mail.
As always there are tiny trains and big antique steam engines. There are small gifts for children such as ballerina tree ornaments and angels. Little snow globes are old time favourites and everyone will have to shake them on Christmas morning to watch the snowflakes fall.
“They are good stocking stuffers,” Goodall said.
Of course by Christmas the Toronto Blue Jays will have come and gone, but the feathered bird variety along with some red cardinals make great tree decorations, for bird lovers as well as baseball fans. And look for the prints on canvas that the gift shop is selling this year. Some of them have little lights on the back to provide an extra decorative sparkle.
As for Santa, he might just stop by for some apple cider. In that case, there are little pint-sized containers of apple cider mix. He can take some home to share with the elves.
Christmas in October will be held for one week only, Oct. 15 to 23 at the St. Albert Botanic Park gift shop at 265 Sturgeon Road.
