Creative couple make Christmas their own
Duo round up friends to deliver Star packages to kids every year
Christmas was always a big to-do in Ashleigh Rains’ house when she was growing up.
On Christmas morning, she would find half-eaten carrots and sleigh tracks in the snow on the roof her house in Roncesvalles. And there was always a mountain of presents under the tree. Her parents never admitted to being behind any of it.
It might be because her mom and dad went to such lengths to wow her on Christmas that she believed in Santa Claus a little longer than most kids, until she was 10 or 11, she says.
“I just remember feeling so betrayed when I asked my mom if Santa was real.”
Although Santa doesn’t exist, the spirit of Christmas does, her mother told her. Rains believes that to this day. In the past five years, the actress and producer has spread holiday cheer with her husband, Eric Arnesen (guitarist in the Great Lake Swimmers and Siskiyou), and friends by delivering Star Santa Claus Fund gift boxes to underprivileged kids.
Like Rains’ parents, the couple and their friends like to get into the spirit of the holiday. On delivery day, they don elf hats and drive around listening to a Christmas playlist made by Arnesen. (Bing Crosby, Ella Fitzgerald and Django Reinhardt are the mainstays on their holiday mix.)
They started volunteering in the west end of the city while they still lived downtown. One delivery was particularly memorable for Rains. She brought a gift box to a house on Dufferin St. and a man in his 40s answered. “He cried, because he was a recipient as a child, and he loved it and it meant so much to him every year to get a gift at Christmas,” she recalled. “He was really happy that there was something for his child, too.”
Rains and her husband have since moved to the Yonge St. and Eglinton Ave. area and usually deliver parcels to families in Scarborough. Volunteering has changed their perspective on Christmas, they said.
“It’s about coming together. It’s about family and community and looking out for each other in whatever way we can,” Rains said.
For Arnesen, it’s an “eye-opening” experience every time. “This small measure of generosity means the world to these families,” he said.
Their tradition of contributing to the fund started with Rains’ grandmother. She had two habits: a rye and water every night before bed, and a donation to the Santa fund every year. “She was the epitome of the awesome grandma, really thoughtful and caring,” Rains said.
This year, the fund aims to raise $1.7 million to bring presents to 45,000 children in Toronto, Brampton, Mississauga, Ajax and Pickering. If you have been touched by the Santa Claus Fund or have a story to tell, please email santaclausfund@thestar.ca.