My family and I have many traditions that make the holiday season special. Christmas Eve is the big celebration in our house, with a menu that includes Norwegian, German and Ukrainian dishes such as lefse, seafood thermidor, rouladen, cabbage rolls and whipped shortbread. Boxing Day is all about our family movie marathon, where every year we watch The Wizard of Oz and The Sound of Music as well as holiday staples including It’s A Wonderful Life and White Christmas. The Lord of the Rings trilogy may also be involved. We also love to brave the chill and head outdoors for hikes at Chickakoo Lake, and to check out the beautifully lit up Central Park in Spruce Grove.
Last year, though, we started a new holiday tradition — and it’s already a family favourite.
We’re always giving back during the holiday season, making donations to the Campus Food Bank and helping prepare food hampers. However, I was looking for a way to give back that allowed me to connect with people, in person, and I was thrilled when I learned about International Education and Enrolment's Share the Cheer program.
Having lived far away from home to go to school myself, I know what it’s like to not be able to come home for Christmas. I thought that it would be really nice to bring some students in and have a little family time with our family. For 2024, my husband Tim and I were preparing for a full house as we welcomed our three adult children, their partners and pets, as well as my parents. The more the merrier, I’ve always thought, so we set four more spots at the table and invited four international students to join us a few days before.
I met the students on campus outside the General Services Building. Everyone loaded up into the family minivan and we drove out to our home in Spruce Grove. That in itself was a bit of an adventure for the students; they said they typically take transit or walk, so driving through the dark Edmonton winter and seeing all the Christmas lights along the journey from campus was a fun new experience.
As soon as we got inside, Noor, a Master’s in Education student from India, went to the Christmas tree and was looking at all the decorations, wanting to know the stories behind all the ornaments. Pouria, an electrical engineering PhD student and TA, brought a lovely package of saffron from his home country, Iran. Shinyu, a chemical engineering Master’s student from Taiwan, was experiencing her first winter in Edmonton. Dilshod, a mechanical engineering Master’s student from Uzbekistan, had never worn mittens before joining us for the frosty festivities.
First we gathered around a hot meal. I’d spoken with all the students before to see if they had any dietary requirements or restrictions and decided that the best meal to accommodate everyone would be vegan and halal chili, with all the trimmings on the side. Everyone was able to dress their own bowl, and it was a typically chilly Edmonton night, so chili was the perfect meal to warm up with.
The conversation around the dinner table was, by far, the highlight of the evening for me. Everyone had such an incredible story about how they came to Canada, how they chose the 伊人直播, what they were doing in their studies. It was all just so fascinating, humbling and inspiring.
Once everyone had full bellies, we bundled up and headed out to check out the lights in Spruce Grove’s Central Park. Luckily, we had several pairs of 伊人直播 mittens available — like Dilshod, all the students were from warmer areas of the world and had never worn them before. There was a big bonfire in the park where everyone could warm up, and we all wandered around the area, taking pictures and admiring all the trees. Every single tree in that park gets decked out in lights for the season, and it’s just magical.
After a while — it was twenty below, so still quite cold for the students, even with cozy mittens on — we piled back in the van, smelling like wood smoke and winter frost. Noor even shared that it had been her favourite evening in Canada.
Our experience as hosts in the Share the Cheer program was so wonderful that we applied to be hosts again this year without hesitation. We’re very eager to see who we’re matched with this year — and I’m already thinking about what we’ll all do (and eat!) to celebrate the season.
