EDMONTON -- While the pandemic has kept a St. Albert woman at home, Joyce Paul has been just fine. She has everything she needs: groceries, police and firefighters nearby, a ski hill in her living room, and, finally, after 22 years, a bank, too.
"The only thing I'm really missing right now is a hospital and a vet store and a pet store," she told CTV News Edmonton.
It's OK; she has time to wait. In fact, the six-storey ceramic Christmas village has been 22 years in the making.
When Paul bought herself the first kit, her granddaughter was nine.
"She says, 'Baba, when you die can I have your village?' I said, 'Well, don't plan on me dying right now, though,'" Paul recalled.
That granddaughter is now 31.
"She didn't expect it to grow this big," Paul laughed.
Neither did her son-in-law Dan Jacques, who's been tasked with building the stand that holds the estimated 1,000 pieces.
"I thought when I built the stand this year it was going to be a little bit too big... And it's still full," he said.
"We'll probably have to add more levels and wings and different sublevels, and we may have to branch out to another wall."
"It's a city!" his wife and Paul's daughter, Charlena Jacques, joked.
It took her, Paul, and two granddaughters 10 hours to build this year.
"It makes Mom really, really happy, so it's turned into a tradition every year."
"I get promised every year this is it, but..." Dan trailed off, shaking his head knowingly. "There's more to come."
Indeed. As Paul mentioned, there's a few pieces to cross off the list yet. One of the most recent additions was a TD Bank, commissioned by TD itself after hearing of Paul's collection.
The 7"x7"x5" figurine was hand painted by a Toronto artist and features a sandstone exterior and TD's shield.
After years of looking for a bank to add to the village, Paul said it feels more complete.
"I like to sit and watch my Christmas movies and I like to watch my village. Just like to watch it grow."
With files from CTV News Edmonton's Graham Neil
