A woman in Ile-a-la-Crosse, Sask., has built an Advent calendar for the whole town.
The project is the latest holiday creation of Brenda Morin. In previous years she has built a train out of milk crates and her own Candy Land to celebrate Christmas. This year, she decided on a calendar.
“It was just sitting there doing nothing, so I decided to fill it with gifts for the kids in the community,” she said.
Morin and her husband Harold built it in November and then posted about it on Facebook to ask for names of children in the northern village who wanted to be entered to win a gift every night. More than 150 names were submitted and divided into six different groups based on age and sex.
Starting Dec. 1, she live-streamed her grandson Chanse Hodson picking a name out of a box decorated to look like a present. She changes the box every night so that every group gets an even amount of gifts.
Later in the evening she live streams the child whose name was selected opening their gift.
“I’m just overwhelmed. They’re smiling and walking away happy,” she said.
Morin wouldn’t tell Global News exactly what was in each compartment of the calendar but said past gifts included chocolates, colouring books and Lego.
Morin said she purchased all of the gifts herself and the calendar is so popular other residents and local businesses made donations.
On Dec. 24, she will make one last draw for about one dozen remaining gifts.