40 years ago a little boy sat with his mother staring at the Christmas tree they had just finished decorating. While they thought it looked beautiful, something was missing. "Oh my," said the mother, "we do need to put a decoration on the top...maybe a star or even a giant icicle."
"I know, Mummy," said the boy. "How about an angel?"
"What a good idea!" his mother replied. "Let's see if we can make one."
Together the little boy and his mother started to search for bits of paper and cloth that might be turned into an angel. From his mother's sewing basket, the boy found some brown yarn and a red ribbon. His
mother looked in her office and spotted an empty paper roll she thoughtmight work as a body. She remembered a Styrofoam float in the back yard which they could use for a head and a sparkling old Christmas tree that could be taken apart for a silvery dress.
As the afternoon wore on and the sun began to set, the boy and his mother worked together at the kitchen table to finish their Christmas creation. The boy wanted their angel to have a beautiful smile and big eyes to see Santa. They decided that her name would be "Audrey the Angel" and that she was the most special Christmas angel in the world.
What the little boy and his mother didn't know, was that Audrey was a magical angel. In the years to come, when she was brought out of the Christmas trunk, she would have things to say and while she often complained in language that wasn't very Christmasy, she was secretly grateful for her life as the family's Christmas tree guardian and most important Christmas tradition.
This year to honor the 40th anniversary of this magical angel, a new version based on the story was created for each of the family members, so that they would all be able to enjoy. Emma & Jane thoughtfully put a name to each of the angels, to give them a little more personality...
We then decided to start a new Gabriola tradition, of the "Gabriola Angel" which is to be gifted on Christmas eve each year to someone in the Gabriola community, whose home it should live in for the year, it can be someone inspiring, caring, or anyone who exemplifies the Gabriola spirit, they then get to put their name on her, and next Christmas eve they choose the home that this special angel will get to live in all year long, helping spread the magic...
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