The Festival of Trees in Victoria's Bay Centre is a beacon of joy and hope, with sponsored, decorated Christmas trees supporting BC Children's Hospital.

But for the Mills family, part of that joyful spirit was stripped from them when they discovered on the festival's last day that sentimental tree adornments had been stolen from their tree. 

"Rant to the person(s) who stole our vintage, sentimental hockey jersey and every last one of my son's hockey cards and various items off our sponsored family tree at The Bay Centre, in support of BC Children's Hospital," Natasha Mills said in a Facebook post in the Westshore Mums group.

"The jersey is basically worthless but holds a ton of sentimental value to us," she said.

Natasha's husband Mitch explained the sentimental meaning of the jersey, which he got in high school at Value Village.

"One lucky day, I saw this mustard yellow Canucks jersey with the #35 and name "MILLS" on the back. I assumed this was a random fan that got their name put on, but still liked the unique colours so I purchased it for $5. Ironically, I ended up marrying the love of my life, Natasha "MILLS", who is now 35." 

Mitch described the #35 jersey as a "perfect nod" to the couple's love story, who now have three children together. 

Mall security has footage of a man entering the mall after hours and stealing from the tree. 

Security officer Giresh Bansal said the doors were locked at the time, but as people left the mall from inside, the man was able to slip in. He went to level three where the trees were.

"He was looking for other stuff on some other trees, but he stole from the jersey one," he said. The man was able to get away with the stolen goods.

Bansal said this is the first time something has been stolen from the festival, as far as he knows.

"I know there's a risk with bringing these things in a public space, but I really didn't expect this to happen," Mills said in the post.

Mills has since filed a police report and asked the Facebook group to keep an eye out for the "very distinctive jersey."