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Family won't let decoration-destroying 'Grinch' ruin Christmas

Anonymous donor came forward to help Christmas-loving family in Barrie with new inflatables; 'It’s not just for us, it’s for the neighbourhood'

Andrew Carter isn’t letting the neighbourhood Grinch ruin his family’s love of Christmas.

Carter and his family are self-proclaimed Christmas fanatics and have always "gone big" when decorating their Hickling Trail home in Barrie for their favourite holidays, with lots of lights and giant inflatables on the roof and in their backyard. 

This year, Carter took advantage of the mild November weather and set up their giant Baby Yoda.

“This is the first time we’ve had an incident, unfortunately,” he said, noting he set them up in his fenced backyard, which is visible to anyone passing by on Maitland Drive. “We have been doing the backyard for about three or four years as we’ve expanded our collection. We love having the Christmas stuff up and out. All the neighbourhood kids walk by and drag their mom and dad outside to see them."

Carter said he initially thought they were just stuck under the snow, but after trying to shovel them out, he realized they’d been slashed.

“I went to walk the dog and was up early. We have lights on the fence, too, and they were all off and it’s the second time they were off. I thought, 'OK, someone is playing with the button again,' and I noticed the gate was open, which I thought was weird,” he said.

“I came back and (the inflatables) were all lying down. They had a bit of snow on them, so I tried to pick Santa up, but he didn’t want to inflate fully, so I thought I’d give him a minute and went to grab Rudolph. And I noticed immediately there was a big slice in him," Carter added. 

Carter immediately went to look at the others, including a wiener dog, which he said nearly had the entire head cut off.

“The one Baby Yoda, his eye is slashed right out of him. A brand new guy we have has an almost two-foot gash out of him, and my Cruz Ramirez from Cars ... it was hard to find her and they don’t make her anymore — there’s a big slash right in front. I wasn’t happy to find it, it sucks. I don’t know why someone would do it,” he said.

In the nearly six years they’ve lived there, Carter said they have never had an issue.

"I actually even had a bungee cord on (the gate), so it wasn’t the easiest to open, so somebody took the time to open it and go right in," he noted. 

Carter estimated they had spent upwards of $400 on the collection over the years. He and his wife had decided they would wait until after the holidays to attempt to replace their collection — but a generous anonymous donor stepped up and donated eight brand new inflatables for them to display for the neighbourhood. 

“We have an 11-foot snowman, another Baby Yoda, a nutcracker, a Grinch, a Mickey, and a Minnie,” he said.

Carter, who put the new decorations out on Saturday morning, isn’t taking any chances this time, though. He said he's installing video cameras around the house. 

“We don’t know who it was, unfortunately, but we are going to take precautions for the future," Carter said. 

Even without the donation, Carter said he and his family were not going to let what happened dampen their spirits.

“If you’re in the house, you’d see that Christmas has exploded everywhere. We are quick to put up (decorations). It was disheartening to have somebody do this. ... It was a kick, but we are making an effort to do this. It’s not just for us, it’s for the neighbourhood. We enjoy it and we enjoy going out and checking out the other houses, too.”

As for what he’d like to say to whoever slashed his decorations, Carter just hopes they will give their head a shake.

"I don’t understand the reason for it. Don’t do it! It’s not nice, and please don’t do it to others. It’s not going to ruin our Christmas and we will move on from it. Just smarten up. ... There’s other things I’d like to say, but I won’t.”


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About the Author: Nikki Cole

Nikki Cole has been a community issues reporter for BarrieToday since February, 2021
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