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Tami Myram shares the spirit of Christmas in Barriere

Christmas light display uses recyclables and ingenuity
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Barriere is a small town with a huge amount of Christmas spirit. You see it everywhere you go. Houses decorated with lights abound in Barriere, but there is one house that is a must see if you take a leisurely drive around town to look at the lights. It’s located on Lodgepole Road just a bit past the Fall Fair Hall. There is a large star that will guide you if you look off to the left as you travel east on Barriere Lakes Road towards Lodgepole.

This impressive light display started back in 2004 when Tami Myram realized just how much her grandparents and mother-in-law enjoyed Christmas. So she started decorating her yard and adding something new to her displays each year to bring enjoyment to her family.

What is really amazing is that Myram makes most of the decorations herself, many from recyclables. Her creativity is something to be in awe of. I certainly am after getting a tour and close-ups of her many creations.

Last year Myram made a gingerbread house complete with a family of gingerbread people. The wrapped candy is made from rolled socks covered with aluminum foil painted green. The peppermints are paper plates with red swirls painted on them.

This year’s added creation is an igloo made from the bottoms of 78 plastic gallon milk jugs with blue lights inside (see photo on page 1). The polar bears are cut from wood and hand painted. Myram is obviously quite skilled at using a jigsaw.

There is a large pine tree in the front yard that is quite tall. Myram says she got her husband and daughter to climb the tree to place a large homemade lighted star at the top. They didn’t make it quite to the top because the wind came up making it unsafe to keep going, but the star is most of the way up. Next year Myram hopes the star will make it all the way to the top.

Not only is Myram reusing her recyclables in a creative way, but she is also very community minded by keeping a can in front of the house for food bank donations.

Myram says her grandparents and mother-in-law are gone now, but she has definitely inherited their love of Christmas. She tries to make Christmas as special and full of wonder as she can for her family and friends.

Myram said she is already planning next year’s creation which will be a giant lighted poinsettia. She encourages the community to come by and view her Christmas display and if you can, to bring a donation for the food bank.

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