A now 21-year tradition, the JAMS Family Christmas Dinner, will continue this year, being held on Christmas Day, December 25th, from 1 to 4 p.m. at Knox Fellowship Hall.
Sandy Johnson, the organizer and ‘matriarch’ of the event, said they created the community stalwart in 2003 after losing her spouse, Daryl Spencer, earlier that year. It was from that very first Christmas that she and her three children, Jen, Ali, and Mikki, decided they wanted to make some new Christmas memories.
“Maybe they’ve lost somebody. Maybe they’re now a single parent. Anything like that. Bring somebody with you because we really appreciate people not being able to spend Christmas Day alone.”
This year will be particularly bittersweet for Johnson and her husband Joel, who since last Christmas have each lost their mothers, both of whom will now be added to the list of those being honoured by continuing the tradition.
The late Gerald Alexander will also be dearly missed, said Johnson, as he had been saying the blessing over the meal for as many events as they’ve held.
Sandy’s late mom, Doreen Brown, was also a big help with the event, so this is the first year she will be taking on another role.
“With her being gone, it’s passed on to me this year, so I’ll be calling all of the attendees for the last year, asking them if they have someplace to spend Christmas Day. If they do, that is wonderful. If they don’t, they’re more than welcome to join us.”
She said it is also important for them to know about how many people plan to attend, to ensure they have enough food.
“Having enough also means that we may have extras, and we always make sure that people go home with Christmas leftovers for for that day, just because that is also a part of Christmas as well,” she shared.
“If it’s your first Christmas alone without a loved one that you’ve lost, and even though you might have one or two or three people, definitely coming creates a different memory,” said Johnson. “We do ask, though, that if you have, seven, eight, nine people, that you could actually cook for them in your own home so that you save the seats for the people that are going to be alone.”
“We always mix it up, like we don’t eat together as a family, we always separate and eat with other tables that have people in it that are alone and just kind of get to know them as well.”
While the crowd of more than 100-plus people on average is often made up of older people, there are younger regulars as well.
“Dads that have the kids for Christmas this year or people that have lost somebody and they just want to make new memories. It’s definitely filling a need somewhere because we never have a shortage of people.”
Unless, of course, a winter storm hits on Christmas Day, as was the case last year, when they cooked for 170 and we had only about 90 attend due to all of the snow.
Deliveries, nonetheless, are not part of the dinner, as the whole point is to go out to enjoy a meal with other people on Christmas Day.
“But we will definitely pick up individuals on Christmas Day and bring them to and from the Christmas dinner. So that’s not a problem,” she invited.
She said the Knox Presbyterian Church has been kind enough to donate the Hall for the past 20 years, which she said, ‘is amazing’, and there is always plenty of food to be enjoyed in good company at no charge.
Anyone who would like to attend can contact Sandy at 306-861-2787.
“We do really appreciate the fact that Wholesale Club has been a major contributor to our Christmas dinner every year,” she noted.
The menu is also plentiful, but it is never a potluck; as the saying goes, ‘too many cooks in the kitchen’ can lead to more complications. The family has it down to an art and a science, with turkeys and all of the ‘fixins’, including potatoes, stuffing, yams, turnips, and other vegetables. Pies and apple salad are also mainstays of the JAMS dinner. They also always have every available option of cranberry sauce.
Each year has also included some type of entertainment, from family performances to instrumental music.
Volunteers are needed beginning at about 10 a.m. on December 24th, which is also something they request be organized in advance.
“We’ve got a lot of people that once they’ve come, they’ve come every year. It’s kind of crazy. It’s addictive. Once you’ve been here, you know how fun it is and how much it is wonderful to give back to the community. So we do have a lot of families or single people that come, and even travel from out of town, to help us out.”
One of the regular families of volunteers is the Dammanns.
“They’ve been there every year for I don’t even know how many years. They’re so good that I don’t even have to be there. They could do it themselves,” she expressed.
“We welcome volunteers of all ages and we try and make the jobs appropriate to the ages that we have. We don’t want people standing around otherwise then they don’t want to volunteer again. We want to make sure that people have something to do,” she said, adding that even smaller jobs like filling salt and pepper shakers can fall to younger helpers.
The volunteer roles are also staggered, with some going at 10 a.m. on Christmas Eve, some at 11, some at 12 p.m., and so on, with a 10 a.m. start on Christmas Day as well. Tear down is another important role for volunteers.
While there is no charge to take part, or obligation to pay, many attendees often do make monetary contributions.
“This year, we’re going to be donating our proceeds because a lot of people like to still pay for their meals, which they don’t have to. If you don’t have the money, you certainly don’t have to pay. Those that want to pay for their meals, we’re going to be donating our funds to the Colour My World Daycare. They’re doing an expansion this year, so it would be really great to have some funds going to them.”
With food prices at an all-time high this year, anyone wanting to donate any funds to the Christmas dinner in advance can e-transfer Sandy at browner64@yahoo.ca.