Operation Christmas Child

This blog was written November 16, 2006


Christmas is coming! So this year, I wrote a letter to my 7 best friends telling them they would not be receiving presents from me. Sound awful? WELL....read the letter and then tell me what you think.

Dear best friends,
The holiday season is upon us already and I'm sure some of you are starting to think about Christmas shopping. I know I am.
Anyways, this year, I've decided to do something a little different from exchanging gifts with my dear friends. I have chosen to donate an undisclosed amount of money to a charity of my choice rather than buy individual gifts for each of you.
This decision has come to me for 2 reasons: 1. As you all know, I am now unemployed and money is pretty scarce at the Graham household right now. So we're cutting back on our Christmas spending as much as we possibly can. One donation will be alot easier for us than 6 gifts. 2. I've always wanted to do something for those less fortunate at this time of year and I'm going to stop finding excuses not to.
I am not certain which charity it will be yet, but I am leaning toward the Ronald McDonald House or Winnipeg Harvest. Our family is also going to look into volunteering at a soup kitchen during the Christmas Break. I think this would be an excellent experience for our kids.
So, my friends, let me know what you think! I challenge you all to do the same! And please respect my wishes and do not purchase me a gift as I will then feel like an imbecile for not having one for you.
I love you all so much and wish you the best of the holiday season and hope we all get to have some spirited beverages together!!
Love and Kisses and Hugs,
Hella Graham

So, that's the letter. I've got a really positive response so far, THANKS BEST FRIENDS!! Anyways, we started the charity process a couple days ago. My kids each did up a box of new items (mostly toys, clothes, shoes, socks, school supplies...etc.) specific to a girl and boy of their ages. It was overwhelming to me how excited they are. They each included a letter(Oscar can't write so it's more of a pictorial) and a picture of themselves. In an age where kids are so selfish and materialistic, I'm hoping to really shed some light on reality with my own two.
We're dropping them off at safeway on Saturday, and I'm going to have each one of them take their box to the desk people themselves.
Here's a little cropped clip of their boxes and letters. I wish you could see the whole thing but my videos take up so much more than 100MB's. DAMN YOUTUBE!!
If every middle class kid in Canada would do this, there would be a whole lot of happy and grateful children this holiday season!