Primavera, estate, autunno, inverno & Dollarama

I remember my surprise when I visited my first Dollarama Store.

The first thing it reminded me was a little store where I used to go while living in Spain, Todo Cien.

That was happening a century ago based on the perception I have of time. In 2000 I was living in Spain thanks to a university scholarship named Erasmus. So, I had the opportunity to study for a limited period of time in Valladolid, a little city of Castilla-León, once capital of the kingdom of Castile after the Catholic Monarchs, Isabel I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon got married there in 1469.

Sometimes that experience was kind of awkward, especially when I was attending English Language and Literature class where a teacher was speaking English with a thick Spanish accent, translating and explaining in Spanish in a period of time when my language used to be mainly Italian. After three hours I remember me completely lost in a universe of words. However, when you are in your 20s, you just don’t care and the more something is odd, the more you think it makes you cool. Like when I decided to shave my hair or add my sixth piercing to my earlobe.

Going back to Todo Cien, long story short (just kidding! That would be impossible for an Italian), that was the typical period in one person’s life when everything has to be “New Age”. In other word, everything has to be as much as possible close to the style of 70’s. To understand what I am referring to, think of Hair.

So, Todo Cien was my official supplier of scented candles. Tones of candles bought just because it was ridiculously cool to light them on at night, instead of using a much more comfortable lamp, and observe in the morning the fancy shapes of a melted strawberry candle over a coffee table of a rented house.

In 2010, Dollarama in a sort of epiphany brought me back to my Erasmus time. Actually reminded me at least 10 Todo Cien altogether… It is a matter of fact that in North America everything seems to be much bigger than in Europe (men, don’t be so happy   J): highways, cars, houses, cans, bottles, Nutella jar, etc…

   After one year in Canada, Dollarama impressed me once again. To explain why, I should start speaking about the cycle of seasons in one year.

In Italian we have: Primavera, Estate, Autunno and Inverno. In Canada we have: Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter and Dollarama.

Dollarama is as cool as an app, a real one where you can physically interact with things, seasons and people. Dollarama goes beyond. It doesn’t passively follow the rhythm of our Mother Nature, it really gives us an extra-bonus. Dollarama tells us exactly where, in the solar calendar, we are at. If our crazy busy lives spent among full time jobs, part time jobs, not salaried jobs (house and kids), skating, swimming, yoga, toastmaster classes, birthday party, shovelled drive ways, lunch boxes, etc…, one day, leave us lost and confused, the only thing we need to do is to go to one of these Stores.

January has one shelf for New Year celebrations while the opposite one reminds you that you’d better start buying valentine’s cards, if you don’t want to remain without. When Valentine Day is almost there, here it goes: March is coming? You should wear a green something. Let’s celebrate St. Patrick Day with three-leaved plants, leprechauns & co.

But if you really want to celebrate, you’d better run…it’s almost Easter. Thousand of Easter Bunnies are looking at you from the shelves. Bunnies, multi-colour plastic eggs, basket to collect the hidden eggs kids are going to look for. So, between a jump and another it’s time to give room to items to celebrate spring and get ready for summer. Flowers, butterflies, dragon flies, pots, suns, backyard decorations, mini fence to protect your flowers, seeds, bird houses (mine became a beehive), garden solar lamps.

Summer means also the smell of barbecue spreading in the neighbourhood at 5:30 pm while you are riding your bike to reach the nearest park. Dollarama, indeed, offers you anything you need for a perfect barbecue, including a cute miniature of a backyard table shadowed by a mini umbrella under which you’ll find Mr Ketchup and Mrs Mustard, a cute couple waiting just to be squeezed. Canada day would be a perfect day to do that. So, why don’t you buy from one of those shelves a nice Canada Hat that matches with a nice Canadian Aloha - style necklace and a mini Canada flag?

At this point you make yours the spirit of summer, so you decide to buy water-bubble guns for your kids, a pair of fake crocks and some small shovels for the single day in all the summer you might decide to go to the beaches. My friends, it’s too late! Cannot you feel something changing in the air? If you are too excited to remember that summer won’t last forever, here’s your mentor to bring you back to the reality.

 Fake silk shining summer flowers leave room to yellowish-reddish leaves. A pumpkin here and an apple there, Mr. Sparrow and ultra plastic smelling rubber boots remind you to celebrate the arrival of Fall. It’s Harvest time! In the air the odour of cinnamon start stimulating your senses. You start desiring a fresh apple pie until you actually go with your kids for a pumpkin patch. The day after you decide to return to your friend Dollarama because you realised that you really need that cute sparrow to decorate your house. It makes you feel part of the neighbourhood. You and the family living in front of yours are on the same page. You share because you care!

Ooooooops! Too late! Mrs. Pumpkin and Mr Sparrow were turned into skeletons by a terrible spell. You go to Dollarama and you are not sure anymore that is a welcoming place where you really want to bring your kids. Blood, skeletons, fingers, monster’s masks, arms, tombs, everything you need to a make a perfect graveyard out of your front yard.

In this last case, I am really glad that Dollarama goes faster than the time itself. I am not fond of Halloween so the faster it comes and leave the better it is for me.

What is left? There is no need for me to tell you. You already know, and if you are not sure, just remember to visit one location by November and you’ll find the answer there just waiting for you.

Only one last thing needs to be mentioned. Dollarama is a friend of any New Comers. In a very discrete way helps you to understand the Country you are living in. It makes you feel part of the community: you learn what to expect next, you adjust accordingly and the day your kids come back from school and tell you that they’re going to have a Valentine’s party, you feel reassured because you exactly know where you need to go to get ready and celebrate it!