Welcome to 2022!

We ended our year with a number of accomplishments!  An in-person Halloween Fundraiser, a virtual Gingerbread Fundraiser, and of course we had a great time at our virtual Ladies Escape Annual Holiday Party. 

Now we are looking forward to 2022 and the second half of our membership year. We look forward to our Prize A Day in the Month of May fundraiser and will be planning a couple of ‘Dinner Take-out’ Nights between now and then as well. Plus some great ideas for Ladies Escapes were discussed at our Holiday Party - so look for those opportunities to get together.

It’s been a tough couple of years but one of the bright spots for me has been being part of Holliston Newcomers & Neighbors with all of you.  We have done such good things in the community and had a lot of fun along the way.

Just as our motto says - Building Friendships, Building Community.

Happy New Year!

Debbie Colburn

President

president.hnn@gmail.com

It’s time to think about sponsorship for 2022. We are currently canvassing businesses in Holliston and the surrounding communities to support us this year. If you or someone you know would like to sponsor HNN, please email committee.newcomers@gmailcom

We would like to thank the businesses that have already committed to being 2022 Sponsors

●       AnyFence as our Platinum Sponsor

●       Prana Center as a Bronze Sponsor

For an uplifting start to your new year, attend the HNN book club discussion on Wednesday, January 19 at 7:30pm, over zoom.  Both readers and non-readers will enjoy this month’s story from, “The Day the World Came to Town”, by Jim DeFede. It is the book that inspired the popular Broadway musical production, “Come from Away”. Read the book or catch the show on Apple TV+ and please join us to chat about this inspiring story of friendship and goodwill.

BYO beverage and snacks and join us on zoom! Please let us know you will be coming so we can send you the link. Check out the book club Facebook page or email one of the club co-chairs for details. As always, HNN club members will find titles on reserve at the Holliston library about one month before the meeting. Look in the book club section or ask the librarian for help in finding them.

“The True Story Behind the Events on 9/11 that Inspired Broadway's Smash Hit Musical, Come from Away. When 38 jetliners bound for the United States were forced to land at Gander International Airport in Canada by the closing of U.S. airspace on September 11, the population of this small town on Newfoundland Island swelled from 10,300 to nearly 17,000. The citizens of Gander met the stranded passengers with an overwhelming display of friendship and goodwill. This book recounts the inspiring story of the residents of Gander, Canada, whose acts of kindness have touched the lives of thousands of people and been an example of humanity and goodwill.” ~Description provided by Syndetics

Cindy and Sue, Book Club Co-Chairs

Cindy Carr  carr.cynthiad@gmail.com

Sue Hatton  hncbookclub@outlook.com

Dear Members, 

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! Thanks to fellow Thanksgiving committee members - Katrine Giroux, Christine Charette, and Amy Forman - we raised enough funds to contribute to both local and surrounding community organizations. All this, plus pies and hand-made Thanksgiving cards for our seniors thanks to Table Talk Pies and Holliston Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts and other community groups.

But now - the holiday season is upon us with our Ladies Holiday Escape thanks to Jennifer Mott & Timea Kovaks. And don’t forget to Shop Local! 

I want to close with a thank you to all our members for exemplifying the HNN mission of community and connection. Everyone should feel proud of our accomplishments over these past couple of years.  Together we can continue to help others and each other in 2022.  

HNN - Building friendships, Building Community

Wishing all of you a happy holiday season! 

Debbie Colburn

President

president.hnn@gmail.com 

It's that time of year again for the popular Ladies Escape Holiday Party and Secret Frosty/Santa gift exchange! Join us via Zoom on Friday, December 10th at 7:00 p.m. for festive cocktails, gift sharing and laughter! Email hncladiesescape@gmail.com with the following information on or before Nov. 24th, if you want to participate in the gift exchange:

1.      Your address;

2.      A hobby or activity you enjoy;

3.      Your favorite color.

I will email you back with all of the information you need to buy and deliver that perfect gift, in time for the party! Don't forget to shop local at our amazing Holliston shops!" 

Thank you so much.

Best, Jennifer

Support our event by purchasing a house and spreading the word to your family & friends! 

We have some great candies this year and we even have Necco wafers for your Gingerbread roof! Plus we are livening things up by bringing in an expert to share tips in decorating! (who doesn't love Abby from Sincere Cheer?!) 

Each $40 ticket includes one fully assembled gingerbread house, frosting, and candy decorations, plus a zoom link to join the virtual session.

You can also donate a house to a Holliston Pantry Shelf family.

There will be one 1-hour virtual session on Saturday, December 11 at 4pm, but the recording will be shared with ticket holders if you can't make the live event.

Order your Gingerbread Kit today!

Holliston Newcomers & Neighbors - 2021 Virtual Gingerbread Workshop

Thank You!

Angela Page (ajherring@gmail.com) & Roan Miles (roan.miles@hotmail.com).

YOU WILL NEED TO PICK UP YOUR KIT ON FRIDAY DECEMBER 10 FROM 2-5:30PM (VENUE TBD)

December is traditionally a very busy month for all, so Book club will take its usual break. We hope that you can find a little time to read one of your holiday favorites, something from your personal wish list, or perhaps get a head start on one of our 2022 selections.

•  January-The Day the World Came to Town by Jim DeFede
•  February-One Book, One Holliston-Between Two Kingdoms: A Memoir of a Life Interrupted by Suleika Jaouad
• March-Radium Girls by Kate Moore
• April-The Almost Legendary Morris Sisters by Julie Klam
• May/June-TBD-ideas welcome!

However you spend your days, we wish everyone a warm and wonderful December as you gather with friends and family for special celebrations. See you in the New Year!

Cindy and Sue, Book Club Co-Chairs

Cindy Carr  carr.cynthiad@gmail.com

Sue Hatton  hncbookclub@outlook.com

We may not be ‘back to normal’ but we are getting there.

We’ve had a few fun outdoors, in person Ladies Escapes thanks to Timea Kovaks & Jennifer Mott and being virtual doesn’t stop Book Club from picking out some great books to keep us reading thanks to co-chairs Sue Hatton & Cindy Carr. And with a special thanks to Julianne Catlin - our Halloween fundraising event on the Rail Trail made a comeback! 

HNN also continues to be able to support our local organizations by providing the resources to make a Happy Thanksgiving for our community. All thanks to my Thanksgiving Basket co-chairs Katrine Giroux and Christine Charette plus Thanksgiving Senior Meal coordinator Amy Forman, 

In this month of thanks - I want to thank the HNN Exec & Committee Boards plus all of our membership for joining this great organization with its mission of community support. It is the people of HNN that make it the great organization that it is.

Wishing you all a Happy Thanksgiving! 

Debbie
President
Debbie Colburn   president.hnn@gmail.com

Playgroups and Children’s Activities have combined with new leaders, Ashley Hatfield and Brittany Miller, organizing fun ways to get together each month. If you are on Facebook and not yet a member of the “Holliston Newcomers & Neighbors Playgroup” group, please join us there! We will have a calendar of our events and local events pinned to the top of the group so you can always check to see what’s going on each week. The link to join is: https://www.facebook.com/groups/hnnplaygroups

With the holidays in mind, November will feature just two activities. On Friday, November 12th between 11am-1pm we will be at Altitude Trampoline Park in Franklin for their Junior Jump (ages 6 and under). You can find more information and purchase discounted tickets here: https://altitudefranklin.com/junior-jump/

And on Tuesday the 16th we will be meeting at the Choate Park playground in Medway at 10am. You can text or call Ashley at 617-281-2609 to find the group. We’d love to see as many of you as possible so we can learn what you’d like to do over the coming months and what schedules work best!

Ashley & Brittany
Children’s Playgroups/Activities Committee
Ashley Hatfield   ashleyjbenoit@gmail.com  Phone: 617-281-2609

Brittany Miller   brittanyacronin@gmail.com

We hope you will join us on Thursday, November 18 at 7:30pm when we will meet up, catch up, and discuss this month’s book, The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah. BYO beverage and snacks and join us on zoom! Registration will be required to receive the meeting link so please check out the book club Facebook page or email one of the club co-chairs (see below).
 
As always, HNN club members will find titles on reserve at the Holliston library about one month before the meeting. Look in the book club section or ask the librarian for help in finding them.
Looking ahead, we will take our usual break in December and will share our 2022 line up with you in next month’s newsletter.

 “From Kristin Hannah, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Nightingale and The Great Alone, comes an epic novel of love and heroism and hope, set against the backdrop of one of America's most defining eras -- the Great Depression.”

“Texas. 1921: A time of abundance. Elsa Wolcott meets Rafe Martinelli and changes the direction of her life. Her only choice: marriage to a man she barely knows. 1934: Millions are out of work and a drought has broken the Great Plains. Farmers are fighting to keep their land and their livelihoods as the crops are failing, the water is drying up, and dust threatens to bury them all. Elsa Martinelli, like so many of her neighbors, must make an agonizing choice: fight for the land she loves or go west, to California, in search of a better life.” -summary from MLN website.
 
Cindy and Sue, Book Club Co-Chairs
Cindy Carr  carr.cynthiad@gmail.com
Sue Hatton  hncbookclub@outlook.com