Bow Valley Christmas Spirit Campaign

11/06/2026

🎄Who We Are: Bow Valley Christmas Spirit 🎄

Bow Valley Christmas Spirit is a community-driven initiative dedicated to supporting families, seniors, and individuals in Canmore and the MD of Bighorn who may be facing financial challenges. Since 1997, we’ve been providing holiday hampers filled with groceries and toys (now in the form of gift cards), bringing the joy of the holidays to hundreds in our community.

📈 Our Impact:
In 2025, we supported over 1340 members of our community. This is only possible thanks to our generous donors and dedicated volunteers!

💖 How You Can Help:
• Donate: Every dollar counts. Help us reach our $125,000 goal.
• Buy a Gift: Support the Bow Valley Elves and join our community of gift-givers.
• Head down to Wild Life Distillery for a community cocktail, $5 from every "Christmas Spirit" is donated to our campaign
• Spread the Word: Share our posts to help us reach more people!

✨Together, we’re bringing holiday cheer to those who need it most. Learn more: https://www.christmasspiritcampaign.com/

11/02/2026

✨ A night of fashion for a good cause ✨

Blue Moon Boutique is hosting its Holiday Fashion Show on Thursday, November 19, and half of every ticket sold goes to Bow Valley Christmas Spirit! 🎄

👗 Fashion show 6:30–7:30 pm, then shopping
🥂 Every ticket includes a glass of w**e and entry into several gift draws

🎟️ $20 ticket: 15% off after the show
🎟️ $30 ticket: 20% off the day before, the day of, and the day after

Tickets are sold in store only, so pop into Blue Moon to grab yours.

Thank you to Michelle and the Blue Moon team for supporting families across the Bow Valley this holiday season. 💙

Send a message to learn more

11/01/2026

🎄Applications Now Open! 🎄

The Bow Valley Christmas Spirit program is here to help make the holidays a little brighter for families and individuals living in Canmore and the MD of Bighorn. If you or someone you know could use a little extra support this season, we invite you to apply for a holiday hamper today!

📅 Application Dates: November 1 - November 30
🎁 What’s Included: Grocery and toy gift cards to help create a joyful holiday experience
💡 Eligibility: Applicants must meet the Town of Canmore Affordable Services Program criteria and provide proof of residency.

Don’t wait! Apply online today to bring a little holiday cheer into your home.

Visit our website to apply online and learn more about eligibility: https://www.christmasspiritcampaign.com/information-for-applicants

10/27/2026

🎁 Calling All Bow Valley Businesses! 🎁

As the leaves turn and the holiday season approaches, we’re inviting local businesses to help spread some Bow Valley Christmas Spirit!

Here are a few simple (and meaningful) ways your team can join in this season:

💌 Donate
Make a direct donation. Every dollar helps us ensure no one in the Bow Valley goes without support this holiday season.

💳 Match Employee Donations
Encourage your staff to give and match their donations dollar for dollar! Double the impact, double the cheer.

🍸 Happy Hour
Take your team to Wild Life Distillery for a Community Cocktail before the end of December. $5 from each "Christmas Spirit" cocktail is donated to support the campaign.

🎁 Give Gifts That Give Back
Make a donation on behalf of your clients, customers, or staff instead of traditional gifts. We’ll help you spread the word that your gift is making a real difference locally.

✨ Give as a Team
Choose a gift from one of our Giving Trees in November through our Bow Valley Elves program! Shop together, wrap together, and give the gift of joy as a team.

Whether you’re a small local shop or a big employer, your contribution helps lift up our community, friends, and colleagues right here at home. ❤️

If your business would like to get involved, email [email protected] or message us here. We’d love to connect and help you find the perfect way to participate!

Together, let’s make this season a little brighter for everyone in the Bow Valley. 🌲✨

10/19/2026

🎄 The 2026 Bow Valley Christmas Spirit Campaign has begun! 🎄

Last holiday season, we helped 1,340 local residents in Canmore and the MD of Bighorn with grocery and toy gift cards so they could experience the holidays with dignity, joy, and celebration.

This year, our goal is $125,000, our largest ever, reflecting 25% growth in recipients from 2023 to 2025.

We need your support to make it happen!

💸 Donate: online, by e-transfer to [email protected], or by cheque. Tax receipts are issued for donations over $20.
🎁 Be a Bow Valley Elves: starting November 12, pick a gift tag from our trees at Rusticana Grocery or the Coast Hotel. Buy and wrap the gift, then return it by December 11 for a local senior.
🥃 Raise a glass: $5 from every “Christmas Spirit” cocktail at Wild Life Distillery supports the campaign until the end of December.
📣 Share this post with friends, coworkers and neighbours.

What your donation can do

$75 = a toy gift card for a child
$100 = groceries for one person
$125 = grocery support for a single parent
$500 = holiday support for a family of four

💛 Donate now: https://www.christmasspiritcampaign.com/donations

Need support this season? Applications open November 1–30 at christmasspiritcampaign.com.

10/13/2026

Our friends at Wild Life Distillery have named Bow Valley Christmas Spirit Society their Community Cocktail this fall, and $5 from every one sold goes straight to our campaign until the end of December.

"Christmas Spirits" is delicious, it’s festive, and it’s about the easiest way to give back this season. Especially if were going to have a cocktail anyway.

Every dollar goes toward grocery and toy gift cards for families, kids, and seniors here in the Bow Valley. We’ve been doing this since 1997, and this year our goal is $125,000. Local businesses like Wild Life are a big part of how we’ll get there.

A huge thank you to Matt, Keith, and the whole Wild Life Distillery team. They keep showing up for this community one great cause at a time, and they make excellent drinks while they’re at it.

So grab a friend, swing by the tasting room, and raise a glass for your neighbours. Cheers! 🥂

📍 Wild Life Distillery tasting room, Canmore
🕐 Mon–Sat 1–9 pm, Sun 1–7 pm (WLD Hour daily 5–7 pm)
🔗 wildlifedistillery.ca | christmasspiritcampaign.com

08/10/2026

📣 You’re Invited to the Bow Valley Christmas Spirit Annual General Meeting!🎄

Join us virtually on Tuesday, September 10 at 7:00 p.m. for our 2026 AGM.

Everyone is welcome to attend and learn more about the impact of our annual campaign, what’s ahead for the coming season, and how to get involved!
We’ll be sharing campaign highlights, reviewing our financials, electing new board members, and welcoming back our incredible Campaign Administrator, Janice Gilliland. 👏

🖥️ The virtual meeting link will be posted here on the day of the meeting.

📌 Agenda Highlights:
• Welcome and adoption of 2025 AGM Minutes
• Report from Co-Chair
• Financial report
• Election of 2026/2027 Board of Directors
• New board roles & approvals
• Open discussion + exciting campaign updates

Whether you’re a longtime supporter or just curious about who we are and what we do, we’d love to have you there. 💛

Stay tuned for the meeting link and more details!

12/23/2025

🎄We’re almost there!🎄

Thanks to the incredible generosity of this community, Bow Valley Christmas Spirit has raised $101,000 of our $105,000 goal. We’re so close, and these final dollars truly matter.

This year, your donations helped us support over 1,100 local neighbours with gift cards, an 18% increase from last year. This provides dignity and support during the holidays for those who need it most, right here in the Bow Valley.

Every donation, big or small, helps ensure families can put food on the table, buy winter essentials, and experience a little more ease and joy this season. 💛

If you’ve been meaning to give, or are able to give a little more, now is the moment. Let’s cross the finish line together and show what community truly looks like.

🎄 Donate today and help us reach the goal: https://www.christmasspiritcampaign.com/donations

Thank you for showing up for your neighbours.

12/15/2025

LAST CALL!! Keep your name off that naughty list and get those gifts to Rusticana Grocery today!! Our elves are up to their pointy ears in organizing and making sure each ask is matched with a gift and yours is better late than never 🎁🎁🎁
We can't thank you all enough for making this Christmas miracle happen each year, we most certainly couldn't do it without you!!

12/11/2025

🎄 Bow Valley Christmas Spirit Needs Your Help 🎄

Thank you, Bow Valley, for the incredible generosity you’ve shown so far. Together, we’ve raised $77,315 toward our $105,000 goal, but we’re not there yet.

This year, we’ve seen a 25% increase in applicants and recipients compared to 2024. More families are struggling, more neighbours are reaching out, and the need in our community is greater than ever.

💛 We are asking our community to step forward once again.
If you are in a position to give, please donate today. Your support directly provides food, warm clothing, and holiday hampers to local families who would otherwise go without.

👉 Donate now: https://www.christmasspiritcampaign.com/donations

Every single contribution helps close the gap, and ensures we can meet the growing need right here at home. Let’s show our neighbours that the Bow Valley spirit is stronger than ever.

Thank you for giving, caring, and lifting up our community.