Christmas in full swing at Garden Terrace
Monday, December 11, 2006 -- Michelle Strutzenberger
Garden Terrace, the Omni long-term care home in Kanata, is abuzz with Christmas activities these days.

“The residents really enjoy this time of year,” says Shannon Boisvenue, life enrichment coordinator, who arranges the many events taking place over the season.

Last week residents took part in decorating the home’s seventeen Christmas trees.

Six Christmas parties, serenaded by six different entertainers, happened this week in the various residential wings of the long-term care home.

The Angel Tree, an annual project, is up again this year. To ensure that every resident receives a personalized gift at Christmas, the LEC recruits staff and family-members to bring presents to the home on Christmas Day. Suggestions for gifts are offered, based on feedback from personal support workers and health-care aides at the home. “We always have great support from families,” says Shannon. “It’s a real group effort.”

A number of tours are also planned for residents to see the Christmas lights on Parliament Hill.

It’s not just the home that is making Christmas merry for the residents, however. Several organizations have invited the Garden Terrace residents to some Christmas events. The high school across the street, Holy Trinity Secondary School, asked 25 residents to a Christmas tea in early December. Forty residents have been invited to a three-course meal at a Holiday Inn Select Hotel in Kanata. In its third year, this event is a cause for excitement among the residents, who enjoy the top-notch service and meal. They also each receive a poinsettia to take home.

Numerous entertainers from the community also come into the home throughout the season.

The home’s annual Christmas craft and bake sale was held again this year in late November. Families and staff were asked to bring in baked goods and items to be sold. “We had lots of support from family as usual,” says Shannon. Residents helped with sales. Some also donated crafts to be sold. The event was advertised in the local newspaper and saw “quite a turnout.” Funds raised are for the Resident Council fund.

Shannon says that offering a wide range of Christmas activities is important this time of year to continue what probably most residents experienced most of their lives. “Even if they’re not in their own home, doing things with their families, we can still do things to help them feel all the joy that the season brings,” she says. “I think they really need that.” She says some residents aren’t able to go home to be with their families at Christmas, so it is especially important to be able to “bring Christmas to them.”