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2 days ago | Advertorial | Lindsay Ferris

“After 36 Christmases, I’m closing my barn” – Why 68-year-old Charlene is selling her last Homecoming Reindeer at a special price

In an old dairy barn outside Berwick, Nova Scotia, Charlene MacQuarrie has made evergreen reindeer by hand for 36 Christmases. Now she is stopping – and saying goodbye with her best-loved design, the Homecoming Reindeer. This is the last time it will ever be offered.

Berwick, November. The old dairy barn at the end of the gravel lane smells of wood smoke, strong tea and the first snow on the orchard outside. Wire frames hang from the rafters. Along the walls stand reindeer in every stage – some still bare wire, some half-wrapped in green, some already finished with their burlap bows and little brass bells. On the long table lie wire cutters, spools of florist’s wire, boxes of tiny warm-white lights and bundles of soft faux-cedar sprigs. Charlene bends over one of her last reindeer at the same long table where she has sat every morning since 1990. But this year is different. It is her last Christmas season.

“I’m 68,” she says quietly. “My hands don’t want to do it anymore. The joints ache, and the arthritis is getting worse.” She rubs her fingers. Thirty-six years of twisting wire and layering greenery have left their mark. “But that’s not the only reason. The world has changed. Hardly anyone pays for real handwork now. Everything is mass-made. My way of working is slowly disappearing.”

36 Christmases, more than 11,000 reindeer – a life spent bringing a warm welcome to people’s front doors

Charlene has done the math. In 36 years she has bent, wrapped and lit more than 11,000 reindeer. Every single one went through her hands. “The very first winter it was just wreaths and garlands for the neighbours,” she says. “Then people started asking for something special for the porch – something with a bit of soul. That’s how the Homecoming Reindeer was born: not a stiff plastic deer standing in the yard, but one that lies down by the door like it’s waiting for somebody.”

What makes Charlene’s Homecoming Reindeer so special

It isn’t only the calm, gentle look on the reindeer’s face. It’s the way each one is built: like a small sculpture of greenery and light, made to be enjoyed every December – not something off a conveyor belt.

Underneath sits a sturdy wire frame that Charlene bends by hand. Over it go hundreds of soft faux-cedar sprigs – artificial, but so lifelike they look just like real cedar needles – layered like feathers so no wire shows through. Warm-white fairy lights are woven right through the greenery, so the whole reindeer glows softly from inside without ever looking harsh. The antlers are shaped like weathered branches, the dark eyes and nose give it a gentle, watchful face, and around its neck sits a cream burlap bow with a pinecone and a little brass bell. Lying down, it measures about 61 cm long and 56 cm tall (24" × 22") to the tips of its antlers – big enough to greet people at the door, small enough for a porch step, the entryway or a spot beside the fireplace. The faux greenery doesn’t shed, doesn’t turn brown and doesn’t mind a snowy porch. The lights run on batteries tucked out of sight, and a small remote control turns them on and off – no bending down, no fiddling around in the greenery.

The result is a decoration that does more than just “look like Christmas.” It turns your front door into the warmest welcome on the street – with a little reindeer keeping watch in the glow.

“Some of my customers have had their reindeer by the front door for over 15 Christmases”

Charlene pulls an old cookie tin out from under the workbench. Inside are hundreds of letters and Christmas cards. “These are thank-you notes from customers. Some have written to me for decades,” she says. She takes out a card dated 2011. It reads: “Dear Mrs. MacQuarrie, your reindeer has lain by our front door every December for years now. Every evening I switch it on before I draw the curtains – and it still glows as warm and lovely as the first day.”

There is a simple reason for this: care instead of speed. Big factories are built for volume. Charlene works on one reindeer at a time. A Homecoming Reindeer takes the better part of a day – from bending the frame, to layering every sprig, to threading the lights and tying the final bow.

The end of an era – and one last chance

At the end of November, Charlene will close her barn for good. “There’s no one to take over. Nobody wants to learn this kind of work anymore – it takes years before you really have it in your hands.” 316 Homecoming Reindeer are still lying in rows on the barn floor. Her life’s work. The last batch that will ever pass through her hands.

To make sure they go to good homes, she has made an unusual decision: a clear special price on every reindeer. “It’s not about the money anymore. I want my reindeer lying by front doors, on porches and beside fireplaces where people really love them. With people who understand how much work goes into a piece like this,” Charlene says. “My grandchildren Kaitlyn (24) and Brody (27) are helping me sell them online – at my age I’ve no idea how all that internet business works,” she adds with a laugh. “They’ll keep shipping after I lock the barn, until the very last one is gone.”

Brody also came up with the name. “He said she looks like she’s lying by the door, waiting for everybody to come home for Christmas,” Charlene says. The name stuck. And for many customers, a simple decoration became a much-loved evening ritual: switch on the lights at dusk, and the whole house feels like someone’s on their way home.

What sets Charlene’s Homecoming Reindeer apart:

What real customers say about the Homecoming Reindeer

“The perfect present for the people you really love”

Her customer Tracy R. (48) from Wolfville agrees: “I gave my mom a Homecoming Reindeer for her front porch two weeks ago. She had tears in her eyes – not because of the reindeer itself, but because she could feel straight away how much love and work had gone into it. Now she switches it on every evening when the porch light comes on and says: you can’t put a price on that feeling of coming home.”

Where can you buy Charlene’s Homecoming Reindeer?

Charlene’s Homecoming Reindeer is only available through Backroad Goods – an online shop that specializes in real handwork from selected makers. Her grandchildren Kaitlyn and Brody run Charlene’s own little corner of the shop there. Only there will you get the original Homecoming Reindeer from her barn. Similar-looking reindeer from mass production have started to appear on Amazon and other big sites. At first glance they may look alike, but they have nothing to do with Charlene’s work.

Only this winter – then it’s over

Charlene plans to close her barn for good at the end of November. “By Christmas I’d like every Homecoming Reindeer to be lying by somebody’s front door. After that, it really is the end,” she says quietly. She gives a wistful smile. “36 years. It’s been a lovely time.”

If you would like one of the original Homecoming Reindeer from Charlene’s final batch, don’t wait too long. With the special price and so much demand, the remaining stock is not expected to last. Kaitlyn and Brody will keep shipping after the barn closes – but only until the last reindeer is gone.

It is the last chance to bring a piece of real handwork to your front door – before Charlene’s glowing reindeer are gone for good.

The verdict

The Homecoming Reindeer is the Christmas decoration people fall in love with. It is made by hand in Charlene’s barn and feels like a small, glowing welcome for your home – with warm light that makes the porch, the entryway or the fireside instantly cosier.

A feel-good piece with real heart – lovingly designed, well made, thought through – and every evening a small moment of magic when the Homecoming Reindeer starts to glow in the dusk. Thank you, Charlene!

The internet loves the Homecoming Reindeer