2026 Festivus Celebration

Within hours of the precise point of the solstice, HAT began welcoming members and friends to the annual Festivus Party, December 21st, 2025. The goal? To commiserate with our Humanist friends on the shortest day of the year and celebrate the coming of the light, precious minutes added each day.

As in previous years our party had a Festivus theme evidenced by the plain aluminum pole and the airing of Gratitude (as in “Canada is still Canada” and “Humanism is still legal”) and Grievance (“No Festivus carols” and “The Eglinton Crosstown – Still not open!”).

Another feature that remained consistent from previous Festivus editions was the quality and quantity of the food. Amazing plates, bowls and platters of food, representing the incredible diversity of Toronto cuisine and the attendees themselves, filled first the trestle tables, then the plates and then the bellies of the 40+ partygoers. Thanks to everyone who shared their favourites. As my mother likes to say, “If you go away hungry, it’s your own fault!” Special mention goes to Genna for baking a stunning exemplar of the holiday baking arts - a bouncing baby fruit cake coming in at 6 lbs. 10 ounces, so crammed with nuts and fruit that just one slice could power the average person through the shoveling of two snow-filled driveways!

One of the unique features of Festivus/Solstice 2025 was the Re-Gift Exchange, pioneered at HAT by one of our Festivus elves, Catherine. The re-gift table was crowded with presents large and small, wrapped, bagged or ‘au naturel’, each awaiting a new appreciator and a new home. If the table’s fullness at the beginning of the party and its emptiness at the end are any gauge of the success of this new feature, then I predict that the Re-Gift Exchange will be a perennial favourite.

Though the talents of HAT members are always featured at our Festivus gatherings, this year marked a first appearance for Comedy, unless you count the unintentional hilarity of the HAT sing-a-longs of past years. Friend of HAT and local Humanist hero Leslie Rosenblood gave us a ‘tight 10’ minutes with some looser minutes thrown in for good measure, full of clever observations and wry comments about living, working and trying to get work in the Toronto of 2025. Polish up your own performing art and you can join Leslie on the HAT stage at next years event!

An event like this does not come together without some planning, so some thanks are in order. Thanks to the HAT Steering Committee for working out the details then bringing them all together on the day. Special thanks to Michelle for securing access to the inviting, warm and well-outfitted Great Room in her building and withstanding the days and hours of stress and anxiety that party planning brings. As with past parties, it seems that being Humanist is never having to ask people to arrive early, stay late and pitch in throughout the day to set up, tear down and clean up. Every time I went into the kitchen, there was a different pair of hands submerged in the sink or wielding a drying towel. We even cleaned things that we never dirtied! Thanks to all the good elves who did their part. Thanks also to the talents and efforts of our friendly neighbourhood shutterbug, Henry, for creating all these wonderful photos to mark the occasion. Thanks to Ambrese for inviting him.

Finally, I want to thank everyone who attended for making the day so warm, inviting, interesting and satisfying. Humanists really are a great bunch to hang with!

Your Master of Festivus Festivities, Richard