Generally sometime before kids leave for the Christmas break our unit has a Christmas party. All the staff come and brings their families and the youth can in invite teachers or family. It’s a big huge party with 30 – 40 people packed into Rever House. We have a big Christmas dinner. We sing Christmas carols, open presents, and laugh. Some kids might exchange presents with their families at this time too. The wood shop at Schaller School is the best thing ever kids make Christmas presents like crazy out of there. They make plaques, photo fames, kids table sets, bookshelves, coat racks - these kids are crazy talented.

At Christmas time we usually like to plan home visits for our youth. Some are supervised; some are just one day where a youth and staff drive up to Saskatoon to hang out with their family for a bit and drive back. Some youth spend the whole two weeks with their family unsupervised. It all depends on the youth.

Some kids don’t get to go home – their family isn’t available or maybe they just got to the Ranch. Usually there are only five kids at the most in the house that stays over Christmas. We try to do really fun and different activities with them. As a staff, you might be sad at first to have to work at Christmas time but you get there and it’s a ton of fun. We also have the full Christmas dinner and treats thanks to our great housemom Cindy – we cook, eat, and play all day!

On Christmas Eve or Christmas day staff might even invite the youth to their own home and have a Christmas in a family setting which the kids love. After working at the Ranch for so many years my family really gets attached to our youth so lots of times they say ‘bring the kids’. Last year we went to my family’s house. My dad even got details about each youth and bought them individual Christmas presents and had them wrapped under the tree. We went for this big walk, then tobogganing, and then we went back to the house and had this HUGE dinner that they cooked for us. Then we opened presents and went downstairs, my dad had rented a wii and we had wii tournaments and played pool. The kids still talk about it and my family still talks about it!

Winter breaks sometimes involve having winter camps which are so much fun. Rever House has gone to Asessippi for a four day camp over the Christmas break. We budget for the camps a year in advance.

Once we arrive we stay in cabins and spend most of the time tobogganing in the snow tube park. The kids love it – it’s a screamfest. Most people wonder how we can toboggan for five hours a day but you don’t even realize it. Back at the cabin we watch movies, make snowmen, build snow forts, go for walks, hot tub, and of course roast marshmallows.

Merry Christmas everyone!