Happy Canada Day!!

Posted on July 1, 2022 by Mike Nelson Pedde — Leave a reply

Hi Folks:

Today is officially our country’s birthday! We were a part of the Living Flag event here in Victoria for Canada’s 150th birthday a few years ago, and after the past couple of years it’s good to see the city starting to come to life again. People still need to be cautious, but people are being cautiously optimistic as well. Yes, we have challenges to overcome, both as a country and as a planet, but Canadians overall are quietly proud of who we are. We can’t forget the past, but we can move forward together.

2022 also marks the third Canada Day we haven’t been out with our Free Hugs posters (maybe next year) so we wanted to share an image with you from our first Canada Day Free Hugs session back in 2010. This was just three weeks after our first ever session, and we were already hooked!

image © D. Gibson

Whatever Canada and Canada Day means to you, we encourage you to invest some time with loved ones! Continue Reading →

Our Thirteenth Year of Free Hugs

Posted on June 8, 2022 by Mike Nelson Pedde — 2 Comments ↓

Hi Folks:

In addition to being World Ocean Day, June 8 is very important to us for two reasons. First, and most important, today marks the 20^th Anniversary of Marcia’s proposal. We say YES!! to each other every day. Second, today marks the beginning of our 13^th year of sharing free hugs – something we wrote about here: Marcia’s Meanderings: Ladybugs and Free Hugs.

As you know from previous posts, we had to stop our Free Hugs campaign on March 1, 2020 and we haven’t yet been able to resume. Some day… In the interim we continue to share hugs with loved ones and to share kindness where we can, including giving out Hug Certificates, replacing the Hugging Spot chalk art in front of our house as required, and sending out Free Hugs postcards by mail. Apparently there’s a post office in Antarctica… 🤫

So, in honour of our two Anniversaries today, we have a gift for those who want it. Here’s the deal: simply fill out our Contact Form with your name and postal address and we’ll send you a Free Hugs postcard. It looks like this:

On the back is a note that reads, “Please share this with someone who needs a hug today. Even if it’s you!”

That’s it. We promise not to sell or give your information to anyone else and we promise not to send you dubious offers to buy gold in bulk or try to sell you questionable real estate. After printing the address label, we won’t even keep your message. We get your trust and in exchange we get to share a hug with you and the contentment of knowing that we’ve brightened someone’s day as the card makes its way through the postal system. We look forward to hearing from you!

Hugs,
M&M

P. S. If you’d prefer to have us send a postcard to someone else on your behalf, feel free to write your own caption when you fill out the contact form. 🙂

We Have Huggers!!

Posted on May 21, 2022 by Mike Nelson Pedde — 2 Comments ↓

Hi Folks:

If you follow our blog you’ll know that for some 11 years we took our FREE HUGS posters to downtown Victoria and shared hugs with thousands of locals and visitors from (at least) 88 countries. Sadly, we had to quit in March 2020, and we have yet to return. Someday… In the interim we continue to give out Hug Certificates and we have sent out a smattering of Free Hugs postcards. We also continue to share hugs with loved ones where we can… but yesterday we tried something new…

Continue Reading →

Krinkles and Twinkles and Smiles, Oh My!!

Posted on December 20, 2021 by Mike Nelson Pedde — Leave a reply

Mrs. Claus, Krinkles and Twinkles at the Bay Centre

Hi Folks:

This marks the second pandemic Holiday season, and things continue to ebb and flow. Yesterday Krinkles and Twinkles managed to twist our arms enough (it took a serious amount effort!! 🙂 ) to take them on their annual walk about Victoria. This marks our 7^th such adventure, and they always have a really good time. As with 2020 we didn’t venture into as many buildings as we had in previous years, but the reindeer don’t mind. They take great delight in smooshing their noses up against windows and peeking in, waving to anyone and everyone in their path… What delights them most is when people smile and/or wave back and they know that they’ve brought happiness into someone’s life, even if just for a moment. Most children smile and wave and a good percentage of the adults do too (even if some of them only smile on the inside). Some people look at them like they’ve never seen Mrs. Claus (or her companion – long white beard, long red cloak) walking around with waving reindeer, but that’s okay too. The holidays can be hard for some people and that’s why Krinkles and Twinkles take such delight in their outing.

Starting from our home in James Bay we walked through the downtown, checking out some of the annual creations for the Gingerbread Showcase and the Festival of Trees before retiring to Murchie’s café for a tea and lunch (Mrs. Claus found the pumpkin spice soup to be excellent!)

On our way back home we stopped at the Homecoming Memorial at Ship Point to spend a moment with our old friend Captain John Mason, and we tarried awhile by our hugging tree, handing out smiles, good wishes and lots of waves!

Many thanks to everyone who joined in the celebration with us yesterday, to the person in Ottawa who joined us virtually, and to the gentleman who stopped to say he had a picture of us from last year!

We haven’t been able to partake in our hugging adventures since March 2020, but maybe we’ll bring out a couple of our other kids – Frosty and Wonder for example – to our hugging tree after the holidays and we can engage in more smiles and waves then.

Hugs,
Mrs. and Mr. Claus 🤶🎅

Sharing Free Hugs… in Print!!

Posted on October 30, 2021 by Mike Nelson Pedde — Leave a reply

Illustration by Sierra Lundy

Hi Folks:

Several months back the folks at Victoria’s Boulevard magazine added a note inviting any of their readers with the ability to tell a story to submit up to three thousand words for a column called Narrative. Each submission would be considered for publication in an upcoming issue. Since we’re both storytellers we agreed that sharing a bit about our hugging adventures would be the best topic for us!! 🫂

Mike cobbled together the bones of our story and Marcia refined and edited it. We came in at 2995 words. Satisfied, we sent it off … and in August we received an e-mail from the Managing Editor, Susan Lundy, letting us know that our article would be included in the October/November issue. Colour us excited!

The article appears on pages 110-112 of the October/November 2021 issue of Boulevard magazine (Victoria). If you live in Victoria you can find them at businesses and street boxes around the city. However, if that’s not possible for you, you can also read it online.

Many thanks to Susan and all of the staff at Boulevard for sharing our story. Remember to hug someone you love today!

Hugs,
M&M

P.S. If we might be so bold, the rest of the magazine is worth reading too!! 🙂

Victoria’s Boulevard magazine, October/November, 2021

Don’t Call People Out – Call Them In

Posted on August 8, 2021 by Mike Nelson Pedde — Leave a reply

Hi Folks:

We came across this video the other day (presented at TEDMonterey 2021) and had to pass it along. This is the best forum for us to do just that! If you’ve read other of our posts this goes without saying, but we love this woman!

Don’t Call People Out – Call Them In (click on the image to see the video)

Continue Reading →

Four health benefits of hugs – and why they feel so good

Posted on July 9, 2021 by Mike Nelson Pedde — Leave a reply

Hi Folks:

We came across this article recently and had to share it with you. We’ve known the truth of this for some time (of course) but now you do too!

Four health benefits of hugs – and why they feel so good

Hugs,
M&M

Remember, if you can’t hug the ones you love, hug the ones you’re with!

Happy International Free Hugs Day!!

Posted on July 3, 2021 by Mike Nelson Pedde — Leave a reply

Hi Folks:

As you all know, the first Saturday in July (today!) is International Free Hugs Day!! Normally (what does that even mean anymore?) that would mean we’d be downtown, by our Hugging Tree, sharing hugs, smiles, waves, handshakes, fist bumps and conversations with locals and tourists alike. Not last year, however, and not today… but soon! The world is starting to re-open, slowly. In the meantime, to paraphrase the song:

If you can’t share hugs with the ones you love, hug the ones you’re with!!

Hugging a Chinese lion, 2019

Hugs,
M&M

P.S. We have a late entry in this year’s Creampuff Derby: our granddaughter, who was born this morning. A most auspicious day!!

Ladybugs and FREE HUGS!

Posted on June 8, 2021 by Mike Nelson Pedde — Leave a reply

Hi Folks:

A very special day for us, for several reasons. It’s World Ocean Day, and since we’re lucky enough to live within 300m of the ocean, we’re privileged to see her in all of her moods. Nineteen years ago today Marcia asked Mike a very important question; we say YES!! to each other every day. And today is also the anniversary of our very first Free Hugs campaign: June 8, 2010. Below is a re-post of our adventures that day.

It’s been more than a year since we’ve had to (temporarily) suspend our Free Hugs campaigns; we miss it every day. In 11 years we’ve shared hugs, smiles, waves, handshakes, high fives, conversations and more with tens of thousands of people from at least 88 countries. When it’s safe for you and for us we’ll welcome you to join us once again. In the meantime, wherever you are today, we offer you (two – at least!) virtual hugs. We wish you peace.

Hugs,
M&M
_____

Hello Dear Ones!

It’s been my hands meandering today – over poster board with glue and markers, 3″ diameter paper ladybugs and brightly coloured flowers.

Tomorrow, June 8th, 2010, Mike and I celebrate the eighth anniversary of the day I proposed to him. Yes, I did! Down on one knee, rocks and all, by our favourite river. June 8th, 2002.

In honour of the day, Mike and I shall be down at what is referred to as the Inner Harbour here in Victoria, British Columbia at 4pm …. the same approximate time that I popped the question and Mike responded with a resounding YES!

Mike and I are both dolling up these placards to say, simply, FREE HUGS. Yet they are decorated by each of us individually – so each is unique – as are we! Mike’s has a butterfly, hearts and bright colours. Mine has ladybugs and huge flowers.

We’ll be giving out free hugs to any willing participants and we certainly hope there may be a few daring souls. Should you happen to be in the neighbourhood, come join us – even if it’s just to watch two mature adults make absolute fools of themselves – enjoying and savouring every single moment of it! There’ll be ample supply of laughter, hugs, smiles and yes, even free hug certificates as giveaways.

If you’ve not yet checked out our Hugs Certificates page, take a moment to do so here. Mike and I carry a stock of these business card-sized certificates which we delightedly give out to: cashiers; people we see sharing hugs with a friend; as bookmarks in magazines and books in the stores we frequent; on the seats of buses; anywhere we happen to go and someone either gives us a reason to smile or really needs one of their own – which we happily oblige by giving them one of ours. What a joyous adventure this has become – such fun!

An exceptionally BIG thank you to Mike for this marvellous idea, for providing the materials and for the inspiration to make this a play day! A lifetime supply of HUGS, just for him and him alone …

In Light and Laughter,

Marcia

BTW: we’re not the first to do this and hopefully not the last! Check out the Free Hugs Campaign that inspired us to do the same.

Update:

We had a great time, and we gave/ received over 200 hugs in 3 hours. Our friend Aaron came by as well and made some photographs. Here are a couple of the best of them (more are available here):