Zoom Family Party for Christmas Day

December 25, 2020 

Screen Shot of the 2020 Xmas Zoom Party
December 25, 2020  4 pm PST

Catherine began thinking about an online festive occasion one week before Christmas, setting up parameters for the party: sending requests for trivia questions for a family game; suggesting wearing a holiday hat would be optional (no pressure).

No one replied to her party invitation – including me. 

The problem of nailing down an exact time in people’s holiday schedules seemed like a task that could not be overcome. 

The question “was there even going to be a holiday” was lingering in my mind. 

But when Catherine sent out another message with a time and date – calendar got filled. 

LtoR Betty, Richard's tattoo, Alice, Michael in a Santa hat

And people came to the party with different forms of hats: Catherine wearing a poinsettia, Catie with reindeer ears, David wearing a sock on his head, Rebecca with a Cowichan knitted winter hat – the pom pom having been eaten off by her dog, etc.

I came to the party with memories of the past that included the Stealing Present Game, a former happy event. Maybe the best of all Christmas events!

Catherine announced that as a poor substitution for that favourite tradition, we would be sharing, from youngest to oldest, a happy or unexpected, favourite memory from 2020 – stories for Grandmother, tossed out there for all to hear.

There was a chance there might also be an airing of grievances at the end of the party for anyone who had some Scrooge-angst.

And so the sharing began, Betty showing us her new foxy stuffed toy, Alice bringing to the camera a large ball on which her body can balance, and Michael with an event that has taken him 1/5th of his life. 

LtoR: Catie, Hebe and the American doll
in matching outfits

For 2 of the 9 years of his life, he has been saving to buy a Switch and now he had enough money to make the purchase.

Hebe showed us a new matching outfit – one for her and one for her American doll, both with a red bow at the waist and sequins on the skirt of a soft pink outfit. And Hebe and the doll also got matching Covid-19 masks.

Rhiannon said her favourite 2020 memory was being at the Shuswap, and specifically, it was the night she asked her cousin, David, to accompany her as they went hunting for slugs at 1 am. 

The talked about their joy at finding some slugs the next day, calling them ‘bad-assed slugs’. 

Four-year old Betty overheard their talk, converted what she heard to green-assed slugs, and that is the piece that really makes Rhiannon laugh – Betty’s colourful talk about the night the teens went collecting slugs.

David Camps-Johnson said his favourite memory of 2020 was when his cousin Rhiannon had asked him at midnight if he wanted to go for a walk to find some weed, which in reality was only a nature walk since what looked like marajuana due to its leaves turned out to be Sulfur Cinquefoil.

Finding out what a person thought was weed, only to find out they were wrong was a mistake also made by another person this past spring. Rebecca transferring some of the same plant all the way to Victoria and then seeing it die, the whole incident was only made more hurtful by the fact that it was not weed at all. 

LtoR: Arta wearing a gold bird,
Rebecca in Mae Sam's Cowichan hat

Catherine and Catie giving technical support

LtoR: Leo and Mary in Lethbridge

Glen should have instructed people on that point before all of that work was done.

Naomi said that spending time at the lake this year was important to her as well.

This year Meighan has spent a lot of time with her guitar, learning to play the song, “Since I Saw Vienna”. There is a chance she will record it for us and send it in a file, separate to this blog.

Ceilidh and Gavin went to the Kananaskis in 2020, enjoyed a horseback trail ride in those mountains, and saw a grizzly bear on the trail.

Duncan Carter-Johnson's high moment of the year was having an assignment due, working on it from 8 am to 11:30 pm and when he could see he needed help, calling for hands on deck – not in the sense of needing plagiarized words, but needing editors on the text and footnotes. For him, the high moment of the year was seeing how much support there is that can be rallied so late at night amongst his loved ones.

Xavier Brooks went to Writing on Stone, enjoyed what he understands to be, as a sacred Indigenous spot, and was amazed at the over 50,000 petroglyphs in the park.

Rebecca Rose said that a family vacation had been a highlight of the year (subtracting the fact that Thomas got hurt on that holiday); and on the lighter side, maybe her initial reading of Uncle Doral’s ‘Santa Bag’ poem was also a good part of the year.

Thomas said that though their family trip to the lake was cancelled due to Covid, he still holds loving past memories of playing board games there with loved ones, especially D&D during the summer.

Rebecca Jarvis

Catie, still remembering good times in the Czech Republic, mentioned those precious days of 2020.

Dalton said that taking a poetry class was one of the year’s highlights – even writing a poem for his dad. The title? Untitled. 

The family had a break while Doral did a performance for us, the reading of his ‘Santa’s Bag’ (1975) poem.

Thomas Jarvis

Then the Zoom call moved from cousin stories to the favourite moments of siblings and in-laws. 

 Richard began by saying that his family made an important shift this week. He reads his children to sleep. But now they have instituted Book Club in the evening, people reading on their own, only Betty needing help now.

Mary said that their two-year-move to Lethbridge has 

been a chance for them to connect with their Alberta relatives, though not the St. Albert crew. That visit will happen when Covid dies down. Mary wanted to add that she has been watching the Alberta birds in the air – even receiving bird fever binoculars for Christmas.

Leo’s lasting 2020 memory was a live concert, in a controlled environment, in a large church with lots of room, the only live music for him in 10 months.

Kelvin has been catching up on his reading. “Yay! Literature. Now I am a nerd,” he happily said.

Catherine said that orchestrating Arta’s surprise 80th Birthday Party online was a warm memory. Getting the Happy Birthday Song ready for that event still makes her laugh and she was glad to be able to do a reprise for Richard’s birthday, 4 days later.

Anita said that 2020 will stand out as the year they had a flood in their basement ruining Dalton’s room, requiring a sub-pump, a new floor and walls, and still under construction, the play room. On the positive side, Dalton got lights installed above his bed. And previous to the flood, she had a chance to enrol in a musical theatre course: a lot of fun, though it seems so far in the distant past that she can hardly remember the musicals she studied, nor the songs they learned.

Doral continued from the basement flood story, saying that he got to spend time with his father-in-law, Ron Treleaven. Ron came up every other weekend to help Doral with the basement project. On yet another positive note, Doral and Anita found time every Wednesday evening to continue gaming with their friends, but now on-line. And as well, the family had tickets to see “Rock of Ages” which only almost happened – cancelled because of Covid. But well planned on their part.

Bonnie said that her biggest surprise of the year came while was phoning Mary, getting both the sound of a dog singing/howling and of a Scooby-Do voice talking to her. She thought it was Leo pranking her. But in the end, it was Richard who had arrived from Calgary to take Naomi hunting. He had only just arrived in the house to pick up the phone. Richard did apologize for causing Bonnie that confusion, an apology she accepted.

Eric said he had enjoyed hearing Arta’s thoughts as she had joining them for an hour every Sunday morning, wondering why we didn’t do this sooner.

LtoR: Bonnie, David, Joaquim

Joaquim said that the year gave him the chance to enjoy the great indoors by learning two new languages, Italian and Japanese. He asked us which we thought was harder, and said that for him, now Japanese was just a distant memory.

Rebecca’s high point of the summer was making Daisy Ointment. She had contracted with Michael to pick a bucket full of daisies for her potion. Michael had subtracted to Kalina. This made Rebecca aware that the corporate model is well and alive. As well, Rebecca gets to use the ointment on Arta’s bruises – a chance to test out its efficacy.

Rebecca also enjoyed the trip to Terrace, BC with the Indigenous Law Unit to do some work with the Gitxsan community. During these months, the Gitxsan were in solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en. The hotel in Terrace was full with both complements of people, the Indigenous Law Research Unit and the ministers, and she was trying really hard to get a selfie with the ministers in the background.

Well, different fun for different people.

Santa Jaws
the reprise

Rebecca also got to go to the last concert on the Island before Dr. Bonnie Henry had to close down these events; Rebecca spent one last night dancing to the Jerry Cans, 249 tickets sold and one last night of dancing to the Jerry Cans, knowing the health order closed down all events over 250 people.

Steve told us about the Covid vaccine on the Island, about how at the end of November when Island Health knew Covid was coming, they had to find freezers that would keep the vaccine at temperature -75 C. And then Steve’s screen froze.

And now in the name of keeping the party going, there was not enough time for the airing of grievances,

Catherine moved on to run the trivia quiz which follows:

1. Which is grandmother’s favourite activity: a) shopping, b) rock picking, c) making cinnamon buns, d) blogging.
The answer: a)

2.Which was Grandfather Johnson’s favourite Christmas present: a) peanuts, b) cashews, c) mixed nuts, d) nuts
The answer: any of the above

3. What drink is also knows milk punch?
The answer: eggnog, though there is often some alcohol involved as well.

4. Which of the Christmas plants is a parasitic plant?
The answer: mistletoe

5. What is the first Christmas song broadcast from outer space?
The answer: Jingle Bells

6. Where was the original St. Nicholas born?
The answer: Turkey

7. What is the song that the Lucy and the Peanuts Gang sing at the end of their Christmas Special?
The answer: Hark the Herald Angels Sing

At the end of the party there was an overwhelming request to hear Doral read his poem “Santa’s Bag” again. 

The poem “Santa Jaws” was also in that first book of poetry given ‘to Kelvin Sr. by his children, one Christmas, long ago. Rebecca rose to the task of reading the poem, ‘Santa Jaws', and then reminded us that everyone in the house knew the song because it was on an old 45 record that had been played so many times that there was no one in the house who couldn’t know it.

Our Christmas Event ended with a request for Doral to perform his Spiderman poem, a spoken rendition quite close to the actual song. 

He first performed it when he was the master of ceremonies at Mary's wedding.

He had been announcing poems read by others, and then in a show of solidarity with other recitations said, “I, too, have a poem to share”. Twenty-three years later he hasn’t lost any of his pitch, pace or pause in that rendition.

And thus ended our 2020 Family Christmas Party.

Arta