Early last week, my daughter and I participated in our (almost) annual tradition of helping to pack Christmas Cheer bags for needy families in our community. We have done this since she was a young child, almost every year, with a few exceptions because of illness or work.
In our town, the process has evolved into a smooth operation. Churches and community members buy toys, books, clothing and other items for children up to age 12, and donate them to the Christmas Cheer programme. There are guidelines: they ask for no computer games, movies or music because some families might not have the appropriate electronic equipment, and they also request that batteries be given with electronic toys.
On packing day at one of the local churches, all of the donated items are sorted by age and gender. Large red bags are placed in a pile, one bag per family. Each bag has a tag on it indicating the age, gender and clothing size of the children in the family. Volunteer packers each take a bag, and go around the room selecting appropriate gifts for their bag.
It is a humbling experience to pack Christmas Cheer bags. I am always struck by how thoughtful many of the gifts are. There are women in our community who spend hours knitting beautiful socks and mittens especially for Christmas Cheer. Often, there are wonderful books, sometimes classics, and I think about how those same books created excitement and wonder in my children when they were little. There are always lots of crayons and colouring books, and stuffed animals.
I am equally moved by how seriously the volunteers take their job of packing the bags. We frequently ask each other if an item is appropriate (“Do you think a 12 year old girl would like this?”). Great care is taken to choose the prettiest mittens, or the nicest sweater, or the coolest book or toy for their child. This year, my daughter saw a Hello Kitty sandwich grill, and the first bag she picked up was for two girls aged 10 and 12 years. The sandwich grill went into that bag with great excitement as she imagined how much they would enjoy that gift.
I am continually amazed at the generosity of ordinary people at Christmas time. Just yesterday, a friend of mine from a nearby city posted on Facebook that she had heard of a single parent family in the city, someone she didn’t know, who was facing a Christmas with nothing. No special dinner, no gifts, not even a Christmas tree stand for their tree. She asked if anyone was willing or able to help, and 9 hours later, she was on that family’s doorstep with gifts, 20 bags of groceries, and almost $1600 in gift cards and cash. This friend, a young mum with two small kids and all of her own last minute preparations, basically donated a day of her time and energy to help another family she didn’t even know. I know that this friend of mine also collects winter coats for kids in her children’s school, and does a lot of other work in her city throughout the year to help people in need. I am in awe.
I have some issues with the fact that in our society of plenty, we need Christmas Cheer programmes and Food Banks, and I struggle with the commercialism of Christmas and other holidays and events. But those are for another time. At this moment, I want to revel in the good that Christmas represents, to celebrate the goodness of people, the concern for others, the love for our fellow human beings that motivates us to act in the most outrageous spirit of generosity.
Although this is a Christian holiday, I know that there are many who celebrate Christmas who are not Christian, or even people of faith. But I hope that whether you believe in a Merry Christmas, a Happy Chanukah, or Happy Holidays, you will experience in a real and lasting way the joy, peace, hope and love that I believe this Christmas season represents. And I hope that maybe together, we can find a way to be outrageously generous and kind not just at Christmas, but throughout the year.
