About Us
Colour Me Christmas is a social enterprise that focuses on celebrating diversity within the holiday season. We sell ethnic and international holiday home décor, children’s toys, publish holiday books, create diverse holiday content as well as provide a racially diverse Santa for your next event.
Our aim is to sell products that allow BIPOC individuals to feel included and celebrated during the holiday season because there is nothing worse than walking through the aisles of a store and not seeing yourself represented. Our products deliver joy through inclusion with a sprinkle of Christmas magic.
We are a social enterprise that gives back to pediatric healthcare in honour of the lifesaving care received by our infant son during his first Christmas.
We believe that Christmas can be for everyone because the holiday season represents JOY, COMMUNITY & IMPACT to us. It is not about religious dogma or exclusion. We understand that the Christmas season can feel isolating and stressful to many so we hope our presence can infuse a sense of happiness and belonging for all.
Our Story
My fondest childhood memories are of Christmas. My love for the Holiday Season has only grown as I have aged and created a family of my own. In fact, my family nicknamed me the CEO of Christmas when I was younger, the nickname has since stuck.
I grew up in a household where all our holiday decorations were Black (race). What started out as a surprising find about 30 years ago while shopping with my mother, turned into a lifelong collection and family tradition. Once I moved out on my own my mom started giving me pieces of her Black Santa collection to jumpstart my collection. As the years went on my collection flourished. This love of an inclusive Christmas is the origin of my business; Colour Me Christmas.
The way Colour Me Christmas actually started is nothing short of a miracle. While I have had this business idea for years, I really thought it would be something that I would start when my children were older. My leap into this space started small by hosting holiday photos with a Black Santa in 2021 and 2022.
At the start of December 2022, I held an event called The Black Santa Experience, which gave families the opportunity to visit and take photographs with a Black Santa. Meeting all the families that came to our event was truly life changing. I learnt so much about what this meant to families of colour, mixed race families and even adoptive families.
Right after the Black Santa Experience, our newborn fell gravely ill with RSV and the Flu. He was hospitalized at the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario for 19 days. He spent 12 of those days in the ICU, intubated and breathing on a ventilator. He would spend his first Christmas at the hospital.
While I spent hours at my son’s bedside, I had quiet and a slower pace than I had experienced in years. This led my mind to churn with ideas. It was Christmas time after all, my favorite time of the year (normally). Bored at his bedside, I started to research how and where to source products, starting with the idea of a Black Santa plush that I had been unable to find for my daughter in the previous months. After much success in my research, I felt called to register Colour Me Christmas and get started. Many of those days in the ICU with my son served as the early days of the business. I started to research product sourcing, I started designing products, I even got my logo designed. I had finally found something to take my mind off the endless monitor beeping and the constant worry for my son. Starting Colour Me Christmas in those days truly saved me. It distracted me from the torment of watching my infant fight for his life
Yemi’s Angels
Yemi's Angels is a community project that aims to provide wellness initiatives for pediatric ICU healthcare workers.
We believe in COMMUNITY CARE. This means that it is our duty as a collective to support the people who safeguard the lives of our children every day.
At just 10 weeks old, Yemi was admitted to the PICU at CHEO during the height of the RSV outbreak and nursing shortage. While fighting for his life, his hospitalization cast a spotlight on the tireless efforts of healthcare workers and the pressing need for us to support them. Our family will never forget the compassion and safety we were shown during our most trying time.
Thriving communities can exist when we truly begin to take care of each other. This is why we started Yemi’s Angels to raise funds and awareness for our healt