Happy Friday: Spreading Holiday Cheer
Sent from reader, Heather:
Hi Hip2Save! Just wanted to share this with you and hopefully inspire some of your readers to spread a little holiday cheer in their communities as well. Every year when I was a small child, my mom and brother and some of our friends would make cookies and take them to the local nursing home to carol and hand them out. I can still remember to this day the joy on the faces of the elderly just to be remembered. This year was the first year that I felt my kids were big enough to carry on this tradition, and what a joy it was. We started out in October buying up all the marked down Halloween chocolate (that didn’t have Halloween wrappers) and then we made over 100 cute little Christmas treat bags.
My best friend and I gathered the kids in their little Christmas outfits and off we went caroling down the halls of the local nursing home. The joy I once again got to feel as some who may have otherwise been forgotten this holiday season flooded my heart. I hope this will inspire everyone to stop and do something nice for others this holiday season, since that’s really what its all about… Merry Christmas, Hip2Save!!
HAPPY FRIDAY!
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Teared up a little bit! This is a wonderful thing to do this time of year for the people that may not have family in their lives… Merry Christmas and bless your heart!
Just wonderful – truly the Christmas spirit.
Taking some goodies to the nurses that cared for my grandma when she was on hospice on Christmas night. Those nurses were Angels on earth. I am a nurse and these ladies inspire me to be better.
I wish I lived near you, I would love to do this too! How much you must bless them!
That is awesome!
I adore the elderly, and this is so wonderful! Thank you for sharing and thank you for your Christ-like service 🙂
Amen! Bless your heart this gesture brought tears to my eyes.
Awesome!!
Beautiful…
I work at a SNF (skilled nursing facility). A few groups of children from different organizations came to sing Christmas carols to the residents this past week. The residents were so happy. They held on to their gifts and homemade cards that the children made. Some started to cry and I teared up along with them. What a thoughtful thing to do by sharing your holiday spirit with others. May God bless you and your family.
We have a similar tradition at my SNF. The residents keep the cards on their bulletin boards all year!! This year it was a boy scouts Troop 😃
What a Blessing! There are so many of our elderly alone not just during the holidays but year round. I know that you & your family put smiles on their faces and within their hearts. Bless you!
I love it!! Bless you for making their Christmas so special!!
This is beautiful. Thanks for sharing!
A small group of us went caroling at a long term care veterans facility. It was a blessing to be able to do this.
This was amazing to read. Thank you so much for sharing! I would love to do this with my daughters when they are older.
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So so so awesome. Thank you for sharing this! Your kiddos are so lucky to have such a generous thoughtful mama. Merry Christmas!
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God bless you, this is wonderful. My mother in law is in a nursing home in our town. The residents love to see children, it really lifts their spirits.
This is a very sweet story. It is better to give than to receive. Jesus is the reason for the Season… I would have never thought of the idea of buying chocolate during Halloween and to take to the nursing home. Gives me an idea for my kiddos to do…Thanks your idea and everyone have a Merry Christmas !
Beautiful tradition to carry on.
Growing up, my Daddy was in the Air Force. We moved consistently about every 2 1/2-3 years to another base. When the military moved us, they packed our belongings, sent us to the next base, and we lived sometimes for weeks in what my Daddy called Billeting, or TLF (temporary living facilities). We lived out of our suitcases until we found housing and our belongings were shipped to us—sometimes 2-3 months later. (An adventure for us kiddos, but no doubt a trial for our Mama).
We were to be stationed in Michigan (KI Sawyer AFB) just before Christmas. We got there and within a couple days had a house on base (this had never happened so quickly–not before or since) and we were SO grateful. No tree, no decorations, nothing, but we had a home and we were together. My parents took us to the BX (base exchange–sort of like a mini-department store) and allowed us to pick out ONE present. I chose a baby doll and to this day, that new baby doll vinyl smell takes me right back to that Christmas morning when we found our presents (unwrapped) on the freezer in the basement.
That Christmas is our favorite of all time growing up, and it made me realize even as a child that the most important things about the holiday were family, being together, and being thankful for what we had—each other and parents who loved us and gave us the gift of their time. As much as I enjoy giving to my kiddos (and thanks to hip2save they’ll have a wonderful Christmas) when they’re grown they won’t remember very many specific gifts, but they will remember the time we gave them in love. Time given freely and in love is the most precious gift you can give anyone. What this Mama did with her little ones is wonderful……and makes me want to follow her example. Merry Christmas, everyone!!
Thank you for sharing your beautiful story. Merry Christmas!
Thank you guys for all your kind words. I’m the one who submitted this to hip2save and didn’t want to do it for the recognition of it but to inspire everyone. I was lucky enough to have a mom who taught me from an early age what really matters in life and now that I have kids of my own I want them to have that instilled in their little hearts early on as well. I feel so lucky to be apart of the generous hip2save community who are all so kind and giving and which also allows me to save money and to do more for others. Merry Christmas and happy holidays to you all…
Thank you so much for doing this! My mother has alzheimer’s and lives in an assisted living facility. She absolutely adores when people visit her, especially around the holidays. It really means so much to her to know that people haven’t forgotten about her. Bless your family and Merry Christmas!
In going to try and have the community bank that I work for do this as well as my own family! Love the idea!
I started crying reading this. This was an ABSOLUTELY wonderful thing to do with your children. They will grow up with a caring heart and willingness to help others. They are adorable too in their Christmas outfits. This was great to read! Merry Christmas to all!
What a nice Christmas tradition!! Putting Christ back in to Christmas. God bless!
How inspiring! I love to hear about good things like this. It just warms my heart!
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Thank you! Merry Christmas!
Heather, I love that you are showing your children the true meaning of giving. Your children are so adorable, I sure it put a smile in everyone’s face and a warm feeling in the hearts at the care facility! Merry Christmas! 😃
I was surprised in a wonderful way when I saw the picture in front of the sign for Danish Care Center. I work there!!! It’s a wonderful place to work and I know you brightened so many lives by visiting. The residents love seeing children and you will never know the full extent of how you blessed them. I wish I could have met you when you visited. FYI. I know you also blessed the staff with your sweet visit. Thank you Heather and thank you Collin for sharing this wonderful story.
Lorrie that is so cool! What a small world. We hope to come back again next year hopefully with more kids and I love the person belows idea of bringing little gifts like socks. Hopefully we can meet! Thank you for working at a place like Danish Care both my Great Grandma and Grandmother in law spent some time there years ago and I know how kind the staff is and that it cannot be an easy job. :o) Wishing you a very Merry Christmas. :o)
Teared up for sure… Thanks for the inspiration and speeding cheer this holiday season!
brought tears to my eyes ,what beautiful children you have you will be rewarded in life some way down the road!
Those kids are soooo adorable…..I’m sure the seniors enjoyed seeing those cuties!
What a great idea!!! I need to remember to do this for next year! I could also buy the Christmas candy to hand out at Valentine’s Day!
I think it is wonderful what you did. For any who want to do something similar. Please check with the nursing staff before handing out goodies so that you don’t give them to anyone who is diabetes or other problems. Also many older people go to bed early. Just some things to keep in mind so that you can mke it an enjoyable time for everyone. I love the idea of bringing children’s pictures. When I worked at a care center someone gave out socks. The people loved them. Even just talking to them is a treat if you don’t have money for gifts.