From COVID to Easter, trees for every occasion
No matter what the occasion, Donna Lynch of Bay Bulls, N.L. always finds ways to mark a special event, and often, she does so by decorating an artificial tree in her home.
The pandemic is no exception.
Lynch’s COVID-themed tree is covered from top to bottom with the items we're all familiar with now: Including face shields, masks, toilet paper, disinfectant wipes, rubber gloves and hand sanitizer. Bright white lights and an orange STAY HOME YEAR 2020 licence plate added even more colour to the tree.
When Lynch posted a photo of the eye-catching tree to social media, the picture brightened some people’s day in a time when smiles are hard to come by.
One woman said Lynch’s tree certainly summed up 2020, while another commended Lynch on her imagination and energy.
PASSION FOR DECORATING
Lynch has a room in her home reserved for tubs full of tree decorations. Each tub is marked with the occasion held within the plastic container and includes specific coloured tree lights, such as orange for Halloween and green for St. Patrick’s Day.
In the past, Lynch also decorated a tree to honour her grandson’s hockey team, the Southern Shore Breakers.
When asked about her trees, Lynch begins with the obvious Christmas tree and goes from there.
“Then there’s Valentine’s, then St. Paddy’s Day, then Easter, then a spring and summer tree … and I do one for Halloween,” she said, naming some of the trees she’s created over the years.
Lynch’s relatives in Nova Scotia gave her the idea of doing the COVID tree when they sent her a similar picture.
“I took all my decorations off my Halloween tree to try it. I was three hours at it,” she said.
Lynch’s COVID tree has since been replaced with a beautiful fibre optic Christmas tree.
When it comes to special occasions, she said, she “dearly loves Christmas.”
She got the idea of decorating trees for special occasions about six or seven years ago while walking through a shopping mall.
“There was this black tree ... I got home and decided to get it and do it up for special occasions. I went out the next day and I bought it.”
Lynch loves everything about Christmas, including going around her community and seeing the lights on other people’s homes and properties.
CHRISTMAS AS A CHILD
Lynch says her father was the one who always decorated the family tree when she was a child.
“We didn't see it until Christmas morning. It was always so beautiful, and he hung the icicles one by one. He was very particular with our tree, and he is 90 years old and is still the same.”
Seeing her father’s enthusiasm is likely where Lynch picked up her love of all things Christmas.
As a child, she said, going to church on Christmas morning was a big part of the day.
“Then, after dinner, (Lynch and her friends) would go knock on people’s doors and ask could we see their tree ... If anyone came to visit, you had to show them all your gifts, and I still do that with a few of my friends when they visit,” she said.
When her children were young, she said, she never missed taking them to a Christmas parade.
Her love of the season hasn’t wavered over the years.
“Christmas is so magical, and when I go into Dollarama and walk through the Christmas aisle, I feel so happy inside, like a kid in a candy store.”
Lynch has been an active volunteer in her community for many years. Prior to the Christmas season this year, she collected items for the SPCA thrift store and also enjoyed putting together bags with shampoo, conditioner, soap, facecloths, and other personal hygiene items for the less fortunate.
When she’s not giving back to her community, she enjoys making wreaths for special occasions. She is also handy with a pair of knitting needles and makes and sells numerous crafts.
“I always loved doing crafts and I’m thinking about making a cookbook after Christmas,” she said of her future endeavours.
Lynch had surgery on her brain in 2008 to remove a tumour.
There is another one embedded in the base of her brain, she said, which is growing but not rapidly.
Rather than be defeated, this determined, friendly woman chooses to live life to the fullest.
“I get up every day and I keep going ... I’m involved with everything ... I don’t stop but that’s what I got to do ... I’m not going to just lie down and wait to die,” she said.
“Christmas is so magical, and when I go into Dollarama and walk through the Christmas aisle, I feel so happy inside, like a kid in a candy store.” Donna Lynch