‘Ottawa’ A Mystery Box in an Ottawa Couple’s Front Yard Contains Holiday Surprises
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Amid the snowy banks of their front yard, an Ottawa couple is trying something different to spread holiday cheer.
After moving to a new neighbourhood in August, Shawn MacDonell and Brenda Dunn set up an interactive game to inspire some community engagement.
The game is located beside the front steps of their Hintonburg house and consists of an intriguing wooden box that is painted similar to a candy cane.
The doors to the box at 15 Oxford Street are locked, and above is a sign that reads “24 keys, just one lock. A prize each day, inside the box.”
Serving as a fun commemoration of the 24-day countdown to Christmas, the box rewards the first daily participant to unlock it with a congratulatory message and prize.
“It’s fun to be able to do something with the community,” MacDonell said. “We encourage kids and adults to interact and play. It’s about community engagement.”
“We aren’t attached to how people engage, we just like that they do,” Dunn added.
Since moving, Dunn and MacDonell have made an effort to meet fellow members of the community, such as Mimi Golding.
Golding started a free library box four years ago in front of her house at the corner of Oxford Street and Pinehurst Avenue.
The holiday themed game is the third of what Dunn and MacDonell hope to be many more shareable experiences they build.
Despite concerns of vandalism, responses to the game have been positive and even inspirational, according to MacDonell.
“A lovely lady down the street stopped and said, ‘I’m going through cancer right now and this is a bright spot.’ That’s what it’s about – interacting with people and watching them light up.”