Baking up change and swarming Santa Claus Three local personalities share their traditions, from embracing kismet to herding everyone to the mall By: AV Kitching Posted: 6:17 PM CST Monday, Dec. 22, 2025

What’s your holiday tradition?

For some it might be settling on the sofa with a box of chocolates ready to watch Home Alone on the first weekend of the winter break, for others it could be getting started on the holiday baking as soon as December comes round.

There may be families packing their suitcases to escape the frigid temperatures and celebrate with barbecue and potato salad instead of the classic roast turkey and trimmings, and more yet who will be rolling out their Christmas hosting plans with military precision, prepping to receive multiple guests in their homes over the next few weeks.

Whether your traditions are rooted in your own or your partner’s childhood, something you’ve experienced as an adult with your friends or something wholly new to you that continues to evolve every year, the holidays wouldn’t be the same without them.

This year, three Christmas-loving Winnipeggers share their beloved traditions with us.

Begonia

Singer-songwriter

The one thing I’ve done consistently since I was a baby, and if I am around in Winnipeg, is to go to the mall Santa with around 30 members of my family. We’ve been doing it since I was born in 1987. My sister was born in 1984 and we’re the first kids in the family. My grandparents on my mom’s side, they’ve passed now, but my grandpa and grandma started doing it with just us, and then throughout the years everyone just kept joining in.

There are around 25 to 30 cousins now because my mom has four sisters and they all have kids. Now all their kids have partners and some of them have kids, and it’s grown from just my sister and me.

All the parents come along and cheer everyone on and hold the coats, but it’s all about the kids. I’m 38 but I’m still considered one of the kids.

We used to go to Portage Place Mall — it would be a whole thing where we’d go see the mall Santa, and then we would go to the food court. I’d get something from TacoTime and then we’d go to the fountain in Portage Place. We’d all walk like a pilgrimage, all like 30 of us, to this fountain and just sit there and stare at it.

We’re going to Kildonan Place Mall now and trying to plan it is like herding cats because there’s so many people’s schedules and babies and everything to co-ordinate. I just turn up; I don’t plan anything.

It is very cute and chaotic, and something I count on whenever I am home. My family used to gather every Sunday after church throughout my entire childhood and young adulthood, but when (my grandparents) both passed, there wasn’t one central gathering point.

We keep it alive in their spirit of gathering because my grandma was always just so pleased to see us all together in one place.

We have simple pleasures; I really love it.

Ace Burpee

103.1 Virgin Radio host

I think honestly my favourite tradition is actually change. I’ve done Christmas dozens of different ways. Almost every year is something a little bit different. I’ve showed up unannounced on Christmas Eve at my grandma’s place in New Brunswick; I’ve gone ice fishing on Christmas Day; I’ve been on a plane for several Christmases; a few years ago I went to see the Toronto Raptors play.

Again, I like change.

That said, I know for certain that every single Christmas — no matter what — would not be the same without my mom’s mince pies. They are absolutely elite.

Also, for what it’s worth, I’m a big fruitcake guy. I’m aware of what the haters are saying out there about fruitcake. You’ll never break me. No chance.

Nic Demski

Blue Bombers slotback

Christmas was always a huge holiday for me and my family.

My mom’s a huge baker so she’d always bake cookies for Santa. She loves baking and she would make shortbread cookies, which we would leave out for Santa. And sugar cookies — we all love her sugar cookies.

Now I’m with my fiancée, Vanessa, and we have two kids of our own — an almost 2½-year-old and a new baby who is 11 weeks old. It’s funny, because in this past month Vanessa and I have been talking about different traditions that we might want to bring into our family and what we are going to do is try baking cookies of our own.

It’s going to be a great time this year. My eldest is fully locked into Christmas: she knows presents are on the way, she understands the whole concept of Santa, so it’s going to be a lot of excitement.

We’re not very big bakers, but we’re going to try because it’s something for our daughter and our son when he grows up, something to do together as a family as a fun activity.

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