Extreme Christmas

Dec. 25, 2006
By JOSEPH M. DELEON News-Post Staff
jdeleon@fredericknewspost.com

   IJIAMSVILLE— Dave Termini and his wife, Terry, have celebrated Christmas with their two children Jason and Daniel in extreme environments over the past 18 years. About every five years they visited Ms. Termini's side of the family in Port Alfred, Canada, about 200 miles north of Quebec City. Nights often dipped to 40 degrees below zero. For someone visiting for the first time, the weather can be a shock. “I had this down coat, but the outside was plastic,” Mr. Termini said. “That plastic just froze the minute I got out of the car.” The family enjoyed riding snowmobiles among the ice fishing huts that dot the frozen Saguenay River. They celebrated Christmas around a table laden with traditional French-Canadian food, such as tourtiere, a meat pie. Horizons of blue water and expanses of hard, flat beach may not be the traditional image of Christmas, but the Terminis enjoyed the change of pace. Every other Christmas, the family drove to Florida for a week of summer-like serenity. Their favorite place to stay was Thunderbird Beach Resort in Treasure Island, Fla. The best part of the trip was being together as a family, especially during the long drive. “When you get the kids in a car, you have a lot of interesting conversations,” Mr. Termini said, “because the kids can't get away from you.” After spending the night in Georgia, they'd continue the two-day drive to the Sunshine State. Gifts crowded the base of a waist-high artificial tree the Terminis set up in their hotel room. “The kids would open their gifts and just walk outside to play with them,” Mr. Termini said. “It's amazing to see all these Christmas lights all over the city when it's 80 degrees outside.” Now that Jason is 17 and Daniel, 22, is away studying architecture at Philadelphia University, the Terminis spend Christmas at home. They decorate a freshly cut tree and enjoy moderate temperatures. On Christmas day, they exchange gifts with friends and family before sharing dinner late in the afternoon. “We get to see more of our relatives here,” Mr. Termini said. “But even now, we're talking about when the next trip is going to be.”