Sarita Patel
A worker at the Lake Country Blue Heron Villa brought the Christmas cheer to seniors at the assisted living facility by placing their huge “Snow Village” collection in the nursing home.
Assisted Living Carol MacDonald sets up her collection in front of the nursing home every year, but this year she has expanded it due to COVID-19.
“This is my Snow Village from Division 56 and it’s tradition that we set it up every year … the last week of November we’ll set it up for Christmas.”
The collection began less than five years ago and consists of around 100 figurines that were given by their family in the form of Christmas and birthday presents.
It took MacDonald a full day to build the bigger scene this year, but she says it’s worth it.
“It’s a lot of work, but when I see your smile, when you come down and look at it, it makes me smile.”
“You feel really, really good,” says Grace Faurot, a resident of the Blue Heron Villa.
“Sometimes your family doesn’t come around and you feel like Christmas.”
General Manager Gary Buckberry was relieved that they could set it up this year if it was needed more than ever, as it looked like COVID-19 restrictions would prevent it for some time. “They ended up putting out some rules and guidelines that we could follow that enabled us to set this up.”
“As soon as it went up, you can see her eyes glow and even the mood in the building change too happily. It was time to celebrate, it was a tradition that has lasted for years.”
Alana Biggs, Recreational Coordinator at Blue Heron Villa, sometimes helps with the set up and knows how much joy it brings to residents.
“We are so happy to have this and especially this year.”
“It’s really special to have something that they can actually look at. We lost so much stuff here that it’s great that we can still have a little bit of Christmas so they can even walk around and look at it and smile can.” Biggs adds.
MacDonald owns around 100 figurines, each valued at hundreds of dollars because they are considered collectable.
“Since they are hand-painted and you can’t just go to a store and buy them, most of all they can be ordered from Department 56 online and in certain stores.”
