It began with a Facebook post, which led to a Christmas dinner shared, and the start of new friendships.
Niagara-on-the-Lake resident Andrew Campbell posted before the holiday that he and his wife Rachel would be home, just the two of them, on Christmas Day, and thought there might be others who might benefit from a meal out and some company, rather than having dinner alone. “Sitting on your own is no good,” he said. “People who live alone don’t always cook for themselves.”
The Campbells live in Garrison Village, and are both in their early 50s, “but act much, much younger,” he joked.
Rachel is from England, and all of her family is there. She is accustomed to large family gatherings at Christmas. Andrew’s mother lives a two-hour drive away from NOTL, and wasn’t able to get to town for the holidays this year.
“We weren’t looking forward to a Christmas alone — we like a full household,” he said, “and we had food to share.”
It turns out that although the dinner was much appreciated, the companionship was even better.
Shirley Madsen, who has been helping Ukrainian immigrants who have recently arrived in Niagara, knew of someone who might be interested.
Natalie, 47, came from Ukraine about six weeks ago, and is on her own here. Madsen thought she would appreciate both the meal and the company, so she connected her with the Campbells, who offered to pick her up and drive her to their home for Christmas dinner.
Andrew also learned of a senior, Louise, living in NOTL on her own, and invited her as well.
Louise loves being around people, and jumped at the chance to meet the Campbells and have Christmas dinner with them.
On Monday morning, Andrew told The Local, a sister site of ThoroldToday, he had picked up the two women at about 2 p.m., and drove them home at 11 p.m.
Rachel is the cook in the family, and made a traditional English Christmas dinner, with turkey, stuffing, parsnips and mashed potatoes, and of course minced tarts to finish up, along with a Ukrainian dessert brought by Natalie, and “a few bottles of wine that were opened,” Andrew said.
The conversation covered all kinds of topics — Louise has some Ukrainian heritage, and Natalie shared the story of her journey to Canada. They talked about all there is to do locally, and were able to fill Natalie in on what’s available. “And there was a lot of general conversation about life,” added Andrew.
“I even found myself a Canadian Tire buddy.” He learned it’s Louise’s favourite store, as it is his, but she doesn’t get there often. He’s promised her a trip to the big Canadian Tire store in Welland, and he expects there will be more visits with both women.
Louise said although the idea of going to the home of complete strangers for Christmas dinner seemed a little — well, strange — given the choice between staying home and reading a book, or meeting new people, she decided to give it a try, and was glad she did.
Natalie admitted being at home alone on Christmas Eve was hard for her. She had decided to come to Canada in October, “when Russia’s attacks were very aggressive,” and bombs were exploding close to her home and to her mother’s. “We decided we had to do something, but my mother didn’t want to come with me, so I took her to Poland.”
Christmas Eve was difficult for her on her own, with her family so far away, although she was able to talk on Zoom with her mother, she said.
She’s settling in, and has begun training for a job she expects to start soon. She has three master’s degrees, in journalism, psychology and pharmacy, and has been training at a St. Catharines drugstore, hoping to begin work as a pharmacy technician in a couple of weeks.
She was glad to go to the Campbells’ on Christmas Day — the food was plentiful, and being with other people was good — the conversation was interesting and very cheerful.
When asked what they talked about over dinner, she laughed and said, “it would be easier to say what we didn’t talk about.”
The afternoon and evening was a good opportunity “to meet new people, learn new traditions and have a new experience,” she added.
Sharing their Christmas dinner, said Andrew, or any holiday meal, is something he and Rachel will likely continue to do. “It was good to have people around.”
It went so well, he added, “there is no reason not to do it again.”