Seniors know how to celebrate the season

Christmas is coming and I will never be ready in time. Cards are arriving and I haven't even started to write mine.

My calendar is filling up fast with five parties written on it, and I see two potluck lunches as well. I may be busy, but I certainly won't be hungry. My first two parties are at local secondary schools, Hugh Boyd and J.N. Burnett.

My friends and I love to visit the schools where the students are so eager to please.

From the moment we arrive, we are attended to by handsome young men, some of whom are almost bouncing with excitement as they meet us at the car, or the HandyDART, to take our arm and escort us inside, where girls are ready to hang our coats.

We are shown to a table and asked if we would like tea or coffee, which comes, held by the cup handle, at great risk to life and limb.

Our menus are all handmade offering us soup and sandwiches followed by sweets. One year, it was the other way around for a few of us - oops. But no matter, it was part of the fun.

At one school, we're serenaded by pre-schoolers, and there's always one little tyke who steals the show.

I also expect the school band will be getting our heart rates up with an electric guitar and drum jam session.

It touches me that they do all these preparations themselves and seem so proud to welcome us to their school. We are just as proud to be there, bridging the gap between teenagers and seniors. And we get a strangely young Santa Claus thrown into the bargain.

The Rotary lunch in the Steveston Community Centre is one I don't like to miss.

The Rotarians do a wonderful job of serving turkey with all of the trimmings to a lot of seniors. We have music and singing and may get a gift from Santa. They really know how to make us feel good for a day.

I hope the Rotarians know how much they are appreciated.

If you'd like to go to any of these parties next year, look for phone numbers, or ask around to find a fellow senior who knows who to call. You just have to give your name. The parties are all free. Phone numbers are usually posted on community boards, or you could call the school for dates.

So keep it in mind and try to come join us - especially if Christmas is a lonely time for you. All you need is a good appetite.

Another of my favourite things is to drive around town at night to see the Christmas lights. Burkeville is well worth a visit, as is Steveston, where the villagers put on a good show.

Don't miss the beautiful display at the corner of Fentiman Place and Garry Street, and Richmond City Hall is a joy to behold with its many brightly decorated trees.

The highlight of my Christmas season so far was at the Steveston United Church annual bazaar on Nov. 16. I bought a ticket for the raffle as I planned to win the "everything chocolate" basket - and I did! My positive thinking worked.

I proudly walked home through the village with the big, be-ribboned basket balanced on my walker, and whoever gave me a surprised look was told that it was full of chocolate.

Come to the bazaar next year. You, too, may be lucky! One thing about the Christmas season is it's busy, and, as we seniors know, the key to managing a busy schedule is pacing.

For me, that means stopping at the Steveston Bakery for a bowl of soup, coffee and a treat - alright, an Eccles cake, my favourite.

The crisp pastry and the sugar will propel me home in no time at all.

Whatever end of the village you are shopping in, there will be a place to rest your weary legs while you sup on a good cuppa.

Olive McDonald is an active senior who lives in Steveston.