Gail Sheppard spreads the holiday season, one decoration at a time
Christmas decorations usually come out during the holiday season, but for Gail Sheppard, Christmas Day cutting is a year-round idea.
For the past nine years since Sheppard moved to the Ontario Finnish Resthome Association (OFRA) in the Suomi Eesti Maja (SEM), she has decorated the public areas and the lobby of the house.
“I started on the second floor when I lived there,” he said. “I like Halloween and Christmas, and I had three other trees I used to use in common areas. I had an Easter tree, a St. Patrick’s tree, and Valentine’s Day, ”Sheppard told Sault Star in a recent interview.
Throughout the year, Sheppard picks up supplies and other items she knows will enhance her ornamental collection. Sometimes Sheppard comes up with his own designs or he follows the craftsman’s design and repeats it – but with his own twist. His creations are usually made of cardboard.
“I’ve been decorating for a while, but I’ve only evolved over the years, and when I see something from a garage or dollar store, I pick it up,” he said.
In previous years, Sheppard decorated all four floors of the building himself, but in recent years he has asked people in the building if they could go inside.
“I used to do other floors in the past, but I found people making the floors for me because it was just too much,” Sheppard said. “(OFRA) has always decorated the common areas, but never the lobby, and three hours ago I asked (the property manager) if I could start decorating the lobby, and he said that for sure.”
Sheppard said that sometimes when people have finished decorating, they ask him to come see. On the floors of the SEM, most of the decorations have been donated. Others come from the residents and there will always be room for decorations regardless of size.
The decorations for the main lobby come from Sheppard, some of which he has even made by hand. In late November, he started decorating, and it took less than 20 hours to do all his handicrafts. The work assignments are, of course, scattered throughout the week.
“The lobby lasted 10 hours, the mantle three and the common area wood six hours,” he said. “I’m taking my time because my hands aren’t as good as before.”
All passers-by admire the attachment of each tree to the details. Of the three trees decorated by Sheppard, each is a different color – white, red or blue – and stands out beautifully on the walls. He loads some of his trees into cylinder caps because he prefers them over traditional cylinders. On top of the blue tree is a cylinder, on top of the red tree is a cylinder of a mad hat, and on white is two poinsettias.
Sheppard previously held a craft course in the building, but for safety reasons caused by COVID-19, it had to be canceled.
“The room we use has (only) so many allowed, so we can’t get it anymore,” he added.
Decorating has become very rewarding for Sheppard; and he says he needs something to do. She especially enjoys sharing the Christmas atmosphere and comfort with others in the building, which makes things more comfortable in these challenging times.
“People are locked in, so they want to come down and sit here to look at the tree or the tree in the lobby,” he added. “Or they’ll come to my house someday. I have no problem doing it at all. I’ll just tell them, ‘Come down, you can see it anytime.’