Creating a Christmas

Christmas is forever, not for just one day,
for loving, sharing, giving, are not to put away
like bells and lights and tinsel, in some box upon a shelf.
The good you do for others is good you do yourself...
~Norman Wesley Brooks, "Let Every Day Be Christmas," 1976

For the past few years, my sisters and I have been adopting a family for Christmas through the Redwoods Shelter. Redwoods provides a safe place for women and children escaping domestic violence. Some of the Redwoods families live in the house for a period of time before being supported through the transition to their own safe housing. And each December, we receive the Christmas lists for one of those families. Shopping for the family is one of my favorite parts of Christmas. This year we have a mom and two young boys, ages 5 years and 9 years. Normally, the lists we get are very modest from both the mom and children, but this family is dreaming big and I'm so pleased about that. We got two lists for each family member - a "needs" list and a "wish" list. Of course we have no obligation to provide everything on either list but we certainly aim to fill the items on the "needs" lists and many of the items on the "wish" list and then add some unexpected surprises. In addition to these items, we shop all year long and grab the opportunities to buy things at good prices that would serve the other shelter families like toys and books, children's clothing and toiletries and luxury items for the moms.

In filling the lists this year, we have put together snowsuits for the boys and a gift card for the mom to select her own coat, hats and gloves, pajamas, a bathrobe and slippers, a luxury bath set, books, Hot Wheels, Lego, a magic set complete with two custom sewn magic capes (Nancy did that), a hockey stick and Maple Leaf's memorabilia, a soccer ball, clothes for the boys, jewelry for the mom (my own creations), sheets for all the beds, a toaster, cocoa pot and cups, a slow cooker, a DVD player and DVDs and some extra toys, puzzles and games for good measure. Apart from those things, we have five huge bags of "extras" for other families at Redwoods. My biggest problem is that I can't figure out how I'm going to get everything in my car to deliver it tomorrow evening.

When I go to bed on Christmas Eve, I will be thinking about our shelter family. I know for certain they've had a tough time. I hope when they wake up on Christmas morning, they will know that it's okay to dream big, good things can happen and there is still magic in the world. And I will send them my love, prayers and thanks for helping me rekindle the magic in my world.