Living Windows

(designed by Mel)

Peter and I have been snooping around lately, peeking into our neighbours’ windows. It’s not that we are getting kinky in our old age. It’s an Advent thing, honest.

We got the idea from my brother, and he’s not kinky either. He lives with his partner in Port Dover and, during the first Christmas of the pandemic, they got together electronically with their neighbours and planned a social event, following all the Covid rules. They modelled their activity after the Advent calendars which you are likely familiar with if you have grandkids: from December 1 to December 24, open a tiny cardboard window and find a tiny chocolate to eat.

The Port Dover folks called their activity Advent Living Windows. Each of 24 families is given a date/number, from December 1-24. Then each family decorates a front window of their house in some festive way. It can be a Christmas theme or a winter theme like snowflakes or a movie theme such as Frozen. All the decorating is done with the window blinds pulled down, or black-out curtains, or some other secret method. Then each night, beginning with December 1st, the windows are opened, one per night, for all the neighbours to see, from the street or the driveway, or the grass.

I have been intrigued by this activity ever since 2020. But I needed a helper, somebody else who knew our neighbours and had a lot of energy and community spirit. Then I found Mel – a stay-at-home mom who lives next door and has a lot of spirit - for just about everything! She said yes and we were off and running. I mean walking – up and down the local streets, knocking on doors, trying not to act like duct cleaners or window washers. It was easier than we had imagined. In almost no time we had 24 families signed up. 

Then Mel found another neighbour, Trish, who is a tech expert, and she volunteered to design a local map with all the home addresses and the numbers/dates on it. Everyone who participated was sent an electronic copy of the map, and we planned a little opening gathering for the first night.

Peter and I had volunteerd to take the first night, December 1st, so we rushed around setting up the lights and putting the finishing touches on our window. Then we hauled out a table and an unbrella, (the snow we had ordered failed to show, and we got rain instead). We plugged in a carafe of hot apple cider, with a rum bottle nearby for emergencies. Mel contributed some yummy cookies - and we were ready.

About 30 adults showed up with their kids in tow – kids who knew each other from the local school. The adults enjoyed a drink together while the kids played tag in the ditch. It was a very festive hour, a great kick-off to our 24 days of surprise windows. And here are some of them.

This window was a product of the son’s input; his favoutite cartoon characters along with some freehand drawings by his parents:

Another family effort, the children’s stuffies gathered around a table waiting for a chance to eat the gingerbread house:

This neighbour used a photograph taken by her father in High Park in the 1930’s (Tracks In the Snow), as the centrepiece of her window:

This window was designed and created by the family’s 12-year-old daughter – all her favourite Christmas treats:

And here’s ours. I gathered up all my reindeer who were wandering around the house, and stood them in the window. So far they seem quite content there.

There are six more days of Advent. Enjoy them!

Sue