You know that puzzle your kids got five Christmases ago and is in the box, untouched? What about those perfumed soaps your granny gave you last month? They're still in the closet, unopened, sitting next to the obscure CD your cousin bought you for your birthday, right?
Face it, you know they will be recycled for someone else's special occasion eventually.
But, as they say, your trash is somebody's treasure and, with that in mind, the Port Moody Arts Centre Society will host a "Chase Away the January Blues" bash next week, graciously offering Tri-City residents the opportunity to get rid of an unwanted present from their stash.
It hopes gift receivers will be just as happy as gift givers for the exchange that happens at PMAC on Jan. 23, a day that tends to be one of the most darkest and depressing of the year.
For the event, rejected presents will be sorted into one of the following categories: arts-oriented, entertainment, kids 12 and under, and "silly."
And gift givers need not wrap their item in fancy paper: Just hide it under a page from the newspaper or an old map, for example.
The winter blues-busting soiree follows the success of the society's Artist Trading Card Party last fall to mark International Artists'Day.
Then, more than 70 people came out and swapped small, original art pieces, mingled with local craftspeople and viewed the art on PMAC's walls.
PMAC society board member Jillian Hull said the idea for "Chase Away the January Blues" came from Helen Daniels, a Port Moody artist who is on the society's membership committee of which Hull is the chair, and it "grew out of our collective belief that the arts centre is the heart of the city and that fun, arts-related community events should be accessible for everyone."
Hull added, "We knew from the success of our Artist Trading Cards event in October that simple events - where we make our own fun out from the talents, resources and facilities we already have - are a big hit in the community."
"Chase Away the January Blues" is on Wednesday, Jan. 23 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Port Moody Arts Centre (2425 St. Johns St.). The free event will be licensed andBluesmoke, a local youth blues band, will entertain.
