Christmas lights line the narrow laneways in Timber Town Estate.聽
Lit up green, red and white presents sit under a nicely pruned bush, a twinkling wreath shines from a doorway and white deer stand frozen on lawns. The trailer park feels warm and cozy, a place to curl up with a blanket and watch the dazzle of colour play across the streams of rain on a window.
One trailer, number 242, stands out among the glow. Its window gleams with a miniature winter wonderland. There鈥檚 a gondola pulling its cars above a frozen pond dotted with figures enjoying a skate and toy shops filled with dolls and teddy bears awaiting their new owners. Behind the scene, cupboard tops are lined with angels 鈥� snow angels, glass angels, winter angels, traditional angels.聽
During Christmas this trailer is referred to by its owner鈥檚 children as the North Pole. For the children and young-at-heart in the park, it鈥檚 a place to come and soak up the holiday spirit.聽
鈥淚 came a few days ago,鈥� six-year-old Alexis Shaw says as she points out the moving Santa and Mrs. Claus dolls in the living room of Beryl Taylor鈥檚 trailer. 鈥淭hey are my favourite.鈥�
Then she moves to the tree, glittering with decorations and lights. 鈥淎nd the elves on the ladder.鈥�
Christmas is Alexis鈥檚 most cherished holiday. Halloween鈥檚 next, she says. But there鈥檚 something extra about Christmas, she notes, with a twist of her lips. The lights and the presents add to the excitement, but it鈥檚 not her favourite part of the holiday.聽
鈥淭he best part mostly is spending time with family,鈥� she affirms with a nod of her head, her ponytails bouncing on her shoulders.聽
This year, Alexis and her mother, Angela Mann, started collecting figurines and houses for their own Christmas village. While Alexis is eager to see how it grows, she says she鈥檒l always come visit the one in Taylor鈥檚 home.聽
鈥淪he just loves coming here and seeing this,鈥� Angela says as she tries to pry her daughter away from the nativity scene so they can leave to get to a birthday party they鈥檙e scheduled to attend.聽
It takes 70-year-old Taylor a full week to transform her home into a Christmas bliss. On Oct. 31 every year, she clears the counter tops and tables of the yearly decorations in preparation for the holiday ornaments. On Nov. 1, the labelled Christmas containers come out of storage. 鈥淭he village always gets done last,鈥� she says.聽
鈥淚 love setting it up. I am sad when I start taking it down.鈥澛�
Taylor started her Christmas collection in 1983, when the department store Zellers was having a $1.49 sale on Christmas decorations on Boxing Day. With her children in tow 鈥� Naomi, Lydia and Joe 鈥� she spent $20 on 13 houses and some small figurines.聽
Today, Taylor鈥檚 collection takes up most of her home. Every nook and cranny is filled with miniatures, Christmas trees, stuffed reindeer and snowmen and her favourite, the angels.聽
Taylor鈥檚 love of Christmas runs back to her childhood in England. From birth to age 12, she grew up in an orphanage called Pilgrim House at the end of Pilgrim Lane. As was customary at the time, when Taylor鈥檚 mother became a single parent and had to find work, Taylor and her brother were sent to orphanages 鈥� he to a boys鈥� house, she to a girls鈥� house. There weren鈥檛 the same social services as today, Taylor explains. It was only when her mother remarried that the family reunited.聽
鈥淭hey were different times,鈥� she says.
The orphanage was in a grand, old building in the countryside outside of Westerham in the Sevenoaks District of Kent. It ran a farm and an orchard. And at Christmas, the building came alive.
鈥淲e decorated that orphanage with paper and foil chains. We hung big stars around,鈥� Taylor recalls. 鈥淭here were big Christmas parties for our orphanage and other orphanages. And we could choose three things that we wanted.鈥澛�
The building took on the smell of cookies being baked in the kitchen, and for all the children, black stockings were stuffed with an orange and nuts. It was a happy moment during a time period that was happy and sad at the same time, Taylor explains.聽
As at the orphanage, Taylor鈥檚 Christmas display today is centred around the birth of Jesus. The nativity, which is set up in the hallway of her home, holds the most sentimental value to her.聽
鈥淚 have a book called The Ten Days of Christmas. I read it every morning,鈥� she adds. She also loves Christmas movies.
In 1975 Taylor was left a widow with two young girls. Two years later, she decided the family would have a better life in Canada than in England and headed for 小蓝视频 Taylor lived around the Lower Mainland before moving to Squamish in 1994. In 2004, she became the manager of Timber Town.聽
In retrospect, Squamish is where Taylor always was meant to be, she says. As a young girl in school, she studied southern British Columbia in geography. She always dreamed of living by a fjord in 小蓝视频聽
鈥淚 was 13 at the time and I told my friend one day I would move to that place,鈥� she says with a smile. 鈥淚 love Squamish. I鈥檓 not going anywhere.鈥�
By the end of the holidays, most of the families in the trailer park will have toured Taylor鈥檚 winter wonderland.聽
鈥淭he adults come by too. It isn鈥檛 just the children,鈥� she notes.
Taylor has sent her children pictures of this year鈥檚 display, in anticipation of their visit. Her 35-year-old son texts her excitedly, reminding Taylor of the number of sleeps until Christmas, she says before laughing at his youthful eagerness. Taylor will keep the decorations up for a few weeks after the holiday as her family is set to continue to trickle through, Taylor says, adding her children share the same love of Christmas.聽
Christmas will always hold a special place in Taylor鈥檚 heart. It鈥檚 a mix of good old memories and new ones, she acknowledges, while looking over the twinkling lights. The decorations remind her of that joy.聽
聽鈥淚f people didn鈥檛 think I was crazy, I would have it up all year.鈥澛�
