By Courtney Spence
December was a whirlwind of activity for the CMLibraries. Where did the time go? One second it felt like we had all of the time in the world until Christmas and now it is January.
We would like to thank everyone who participated in our Christmas Cookie Exchange in December. Becky had the idea that it would be fun to do a low stakes cookie exchange where everyone could sample one or two goodies without having to bake 8-12 dozen cookies. We were not sure what to expect, but were pleasantly surprised with the attendance. Moving forward, we would like to make this an annual event.
We would also like to thank our fantastic volunteers and patrons for creating beautifully hand-made ornaments and decorations for our Christmas Craft Sale. The funds raised will be going back into the library.
Now on to 2026. We have made a couple changes to our schedule, so feel free to checkout our social media pages, newsletter, and calendar to see what is happening.
One of our new programs this year is called Crafty Chats in the Stacks. Taking place on Wednesdays from 10:15am – 12:15pm at our Millbrook Branch, Crafty Chats is a program offered to all ages, with the assistance of a parent/guardian for children. Each week, there will be a different craft/activity that will be facilitated by library staff. In January, we will be learning how to make macrame coasters, marble paper, and decoupage, with a knitting circle to help you with your knitting projects and/or questions. Each of these activities is completely optional. If you would like to stop by and work on your own project instead, we would love to have you! Check out our website for more information and to register.
We will be continuing to offer Tween/Teen programming on the first and third Tuesday of the month for those aged 8-18. Taking place at our Bruce Johnston Branch at 4:30pm, we ask that you pre-register to ensure that we have enough supplies. We are also continuing to offer Knotty Knitters on the fourth Tues-day of each month from 3:00-7:00pm at our Bruce Johnston Branch. Bring whatever project that you are working on (which can be something other than knitting) and let’s chat!
Our Crafting Workshops have been increasingly popular over the past year and we love it! Who doesn’t want to cozy up inside and learn a new hobby or craft? With this interest, however, we would like to also ask for your patience and understanding as we navigate what workshops we host, how many participants we can have at any given time, and the time that staff are scheduled to work. We try to accommodate as many schedules as we can, but are limited by the hours that we are open and the cost of some of our workshops. As we currently have a Seniors Community Grant, a lot of our activities take place during the day to accommodate the schedule of older adults. We do, however, offer a variety of programs on Tuesday afternoons and evenings (depending on the date) and some Saturdays.
For more information on all our programs and activities, please see our news letter and social media pages or email Courtney at tutor@cmlibraries.ca.