FOG BLOG MARITIME CHRISTMAS STORIES LOG: NB COUPLE FIND HOPE DOING THEIR HOME UP RIGHT FOR CHRISTMAS

This story was during the more restrictive phase of the pandemic....‘We are Christmas freaks’: N.B. couple find hope amid pandemic in Christmas decor A New Brunswick couple have filled their home and property with Christmas decorations, which they say is helping them maintain a festive spirit amid the pandemic.

“We are Christmas freaks,” said Janice Leblanc, who lives on River Glade Road in River Glade, N.B., with her husband Brian Cyr.

The couple have spent weeks decorating their home inside and out for the holidays, said LeBlanc.

“I love Christmas. It is my favourite time of year,” Leblanc said.

Nearly every inch of their home is decked out for the season, said Cyr, who started stringing up the outdoor lights in October. He said he does it primarily for his wife.

“I love her and she loves Christmas,” he said. The couple have spent the last month hauling out boxes upon boxes of holiday decorations, filling every nook and cranny inside their home with festive trinkets.

When one walks through, it’s hard to know where to look. A Christmas village greets people at the door with an entire table decked out with snowmen. They even placed a craft of Frosty the Snowman in their bathtub.

“He is usually relaxing in a bubble bath with a red glass of wine,” said LeBlanc.

She said there’s never been more of a need for a little extra Christmas cheer than in 2020.

Forced to scratch an annual gift swap with her co-workers off the calendar amid COVID-19, she says it’s been tougher to feel festive this year.

“We had to cancel it this year and this was the first time in nine years,” she said.The couple know their 30-guest family festive dinner is likely off the table this year, too, since Zone 1 in New Brunswick is now in the orange stage of emergency COVID-19 protocol, Cyr said.

“Whatever happens, there is nothing we can do about it,” he said. “We will get through it.”

Like many people across the province, the couple is still hoping that they will at least be able to break bread with a handful of close family members.

“I am keeping my fingers crossed that we will all be able to get together,” said LeBlanc.

In the meantime, she is still hauling out boxes to fill the last few empty spots in their home with a little more holiday cheer.