It's (fill in the blank) Night, And You Know What The Means...

At Kindness Activist, we are always looking for new ways to spread kindness.

But we also have some tried and true kind acts that we do over and over.  We repeat them, because they are fun and the recipients love them so much.

One of our common acts of kindness is buying a meal for strangers.

No, not a meal in a restaurant.

But a meal at a GROCERY STORE!

Breakfast is served!

How it works:

My partner David and I love to grocery shop.  In fact, we went to a grocery store on our very first date decades ago!!  Because we enjoy it, we find ourselves at the grocery often.  And sometimes when we are there, if we have time and energy, and put together a meal for a stranger!

Fruit theme!

We choose which meal we are aiming for – breakfast, lunch, or dinner.  Then we get all of the necessary ingredients to make it!

Dinner is on the house!

If it is a breakfast, it might have coffee, milk, cereal, orange juice, eggs, bacon, bagels…

Hearty breakfast ready for delivery

If it is lunch, it might have salad, soup, fruit…

More of a dinner than a lunch, but comes with dessert!

And if it is dinner, we might put together a protein, vegetable, starch, and dessert.

This dinner came complete with sparkling lemonade

Sometimes we do “theme” shops – like all pink and red things for Valentines, or a bag full of SNACKS. 

St. Patrick's Day theme

Wishing you a very Aldi Christmas

It is so fun!

Someone's having hashbrowns for breakfast!

We then take a photo of the items.  Ideally, we take a picture of David HOLDING everything.  One, because it is fun.  And two, because it is funny!!  You can often find us in the aisle at Trader Joe’s, David trying to balance way too much and me snapping a picture.

See?  It's much more fun when David is in the photo...

I then post the photo on our local Buy Nothing group.  I list out everything that is in the offer and explain that we will drop it off to the person chosen the same day.  I explain that the food is not “needs based”, it is “kindness” or “magic” based, so anyone can get it.  (Note:  we do a LOT of needs based food giveaways 24/7 in the Little Yellow Free Pantry, so these special grocery runs can go to anyone!)  I also explain that we prefer to give the food to someone who has not received one of these deliveries from Kindness Activist before.

Neither of us understand the appeal of pumpkin spice season at Trader Joe's,
but we do not let our opinion yuck someone else's yum.

We then finish our shopping, check out, load up the car, and see who has commented on the post.  We choose a recipient, get their address, and bring it to them on our way home from the store.  It is so fun!

This breakfast looks really tasty to me

We have given these special meals to: tired mothers of toddlers, people who are jet lagged from just returning from a trip and haven’t had time to go to the store yet, teachers on limited budgets, people who simply love the food we have chosen, and lots, lots more.  We do these giveaways about twice a month (so often, in fact, that my phone can auto-type the posts, which always start with, “It’s (fill in the blank) evening, and you know what that means...”.

Ahh, that time Aldi had a whole POT ROAST kit!

These small acts of kindness have also allowed us to meet lots of people in the community, and see new neighborhoods.  See, the kindness is good not only for the recipients, but the givers, too!  And delivering these meals also introduces lots of new people to Kindness Activist!

Anyone hungry for a little SNACK?

We have been doing these special grocery meals for years now and I doubt we will stop any time soon.  Our Buy Nothing group has over 4,600 members, many of which are still strangers to us!  But bit by bit, meal by meal, we are meeting more and more of them.

Cheerios - they're what's for breakfast!  
(Along with lots of other tasty things.)

Each meal averages $26.00 (we are savvy shoppers).

No, I am not running out of photos yet.  Like I said,
this is an oldie but a goodie act of kindness!!

That’s not a lot of money in the grand scheme of things.

Another BIG breakfast!

But just the idea that someone else went to the trouble of planning a meal for you, and took time to deliver it.  Well, that makes these extra special.

Are you hungry yet??

Coffee, Stars, and Just a Touch of Magic

I got to chat with a new pantry guest early this morning.

Well, they are not a “new” guest I guess.  I mean, I have seen them before. But this is the first time they were willing to engage with me.

The interaction started like the previous attempt I made had.  Today I saw them at the pantry, and it was when I had just woken up so I had not been out to fill it yet.  Usually it is almost empty the first thing every morning, so I assumed they didn’t find much in it.

I saw them walk to the corner and stand, waiting for the light to change.  “Good morning!” I said loudly from the porch.  “Was there any food in there??”.

They turned to look at me.  But no reply.

“Did you find any food in the pantry?  Do you need something?” I tried again.

They raised their hands and gestured to me.  “Ahhh yes!” I remembered.  “This happened the last time I tried to talk with them…  Maybe they are Deaf…”.

I gestured back.  Hungry?  Food?  Drink?

They gestured something I did not understand – it looked like a number 3, then a “w” drawn in the air.

Hmmm.

I signed, “Deaf??”.

They stared.

And then they spoke. 

But they spoke very quietly.  On a busy street corner.  When I was standing on the porch – not near them.

“What?” I asked, hoping for more volume.

Again, WORDS, but what?

I hurried down the stairs, hoping if I was close and could hear, we might share a common language.

“Are you hungry?  Would you like some food?  Comida?”  I asked, adding in a couple of gestures for good measure.

“What?  Me?  Eat?” was the very quiet reply.

I tried again, and they whispered another answer.

“We have food.  Do you want some?” I tried.

“You have fruit??” I thought I heard.

“Yes, we have fruit!  Banana??   How about a cup of hot coffee?” I offered.

“Coffee??  Are you ok with that??” they timidly replied.

“Yes!  Yes!!  Coffee!  Please wait here.  If you want, sit here,” I pointed to our front steps.

“Sit?  Are you ok with that??” they asked politely.

“Yes, yes.  Sit if you like.  Coffee – milk and sugar??”.

“Yes.  Milk.  And sugar.”

I rushed in to make a coffee and gather some food that might work for them.  From their clothing and bags, they appeared to not have housing, so I chose things that could be eaten without heating if necessary, and threw in a can opener in case they needed one.  I also picked up a backpack in case their current bags were too full to hold the food.

When I came back outside they had indeed accepted the offer to sit on the steps.  And they had turned on their phone to listen to music while resting in the sun.

“Coffee!” I said as I presented the steaming hot cup and sat the basket full of food choices down.

“I have everything…  But do not have my passport…” they nervously explained.

Ahhhh, maybe that was the confusion!  Perhaps they thought they needed to register or qualify for help here.

“Oh no!  No passport needed.  No papers.  This is not the government.  Not the state or the county.  This is just us.”

I am not sure that was clear them, but they accepted the coffee and I sat down with them.

We chatted as they very carefully added the sugar and cream to their coffee.  I learned that they have two children.  I learned what country they came here from.  I learned that they are working with a great local agency to get support, but do not quite understand how it all works.

“Do you have employment??” they asked.

“No, sorry.  We do not have any jobs here.  But your case manager will help you with that.”

It was clear that they really want to work.  They were so gentle and sweet.

“I don’t want to go to jail.  When you sit, the people, the people with uniforms, they come to talk.  Mostly the police.  I do not want to go to jail.”

It’s so sad.  Horrible to have to have that constant fear of getting into trouble.

There was some confusion over how things work.  “I have SNAP.  But the card…  The card does not work…”.

I tried to figure out what the problem was, and explained if they walked to the county building just a few blocks from our home, they could get help with their SNAP card.

“No, I go there, but you have to go 5 times.  Always new people.”

And somehow, somewhere, they had learned this "fact" that they thought was true (and I guess might explain in their mind why their SNAP card is failing...):  if you find a penny and pick it up, your SNAP stops working.

“Well, this is not SNAP.  This food is FREE.  No papers.  No SNAP.  Just free,” I explained as I offered them the basked again.

As we chatted, another sweet pantry guest approached.  I made sure to offer our new friend first dibs on everything I had chosen specially for them.  They really only wanted a water, Gatorade, and the coffee.  The second guest then looked thru the loot (I had brought up really special items – a summer sausage, box of Girl Scout cookies, and more).  That person was so happy!  When looking at the cookies, they said, “Ninos!” and I smiled and said, “Si, ninos!”.  Those kids are going to be happy when they come home from school.

I needed to get back inside to start my work day so had to excuse myself.  But not before my new friend told me that I was very nice, and that they really like our “Just Be Kind” sign.

“You see the stars??” they said, pointing at the sky.

“Oh yes!  Every night.  I love to look at the stars.”

“And the moon,” they added.

Ah yes.  The stars and moon.

No matter where we live.  Whatever country.  Whatever house or apartment or street corner we call home.

We can all look up at the stars and the moon.

Before I came back inside the guest taught me a trick.  I will share it here with you.  They tell me it works even better with bigger paper, but sugar packets is what we had on hand.

I love that they shared this magic with me.  Sharing coffee is easy.  Sharing conversation is fun. 

But sharing magic??  Well, that is something very special indeed.

Ahoy Matey!!

Some acts of kindness are also acts of magic.  We just did one of those today.

And, like almost all kind acts, it probably made us (the doers) feel just about as good as it made the receivers feel.

It all started with the idea of a TREASURE CHEST. 

 

And then it blossomed from there.  And boy did it blossom.

 

My sister Sherry and I decided that we were going to create a TREASURE HUNT.  It sounded simple enough, but the more we worked on it, the larger it became.

We got a plain wooden box.

Painted it black.

Decorated it – and by decorate it I do mean DECORATE.  That box had bling to beat the band.

Isn't is so fancy??

 

Then we got shells.  But not just any shells – FANCY SHELLS!  Our local beach doesn’t have all that many shells, so we had to buy them.

 

Then we got JEWELS!  Rubies, pearls, and glass beads.  Soooo pretty. 

 

We wanted doubloons – pirate booty – but couldn’t find any.  So, my partner David MADE some, and they were fantastic!!

 

David and his handmade coins

So sweet

We got necklaces, because all treasure chests have necklaces, right?

 

We found a pretty feather on the beach – put that right in the treasure chest, too.

 

TADA!  Look at all of the amazing treasures! 
(Many pearls, rubies, glass gems, and more shells hidden under what you can see here.)

We got a small glass bottle to put a secret note in.  Only, regular paper for the note simply would not do, so we burned the edges to make it look rustic (it may have taken us a couple tries to get that right…).

 

So cute - tiny bottle!

Secret note for the inside of the chest

Then we needed to make the TREASURE MAP…  It was tricky – we wanted the hunt to be fun, not too easy, magical, and doable.  I mean, we wanted the kids to be successful!  Of course, it too had to have burnt edges.  In the end our map told the treasure hunters to run 20 steps, splash 4 times in the ocean, shout “Ahoy Matey, I am on a TREASURE HUNT!”, spin around 4 times, walk 10 steps in towards the dunes, draw a fish family in the sand, look for the “mast” from a pirate ship in the water (one of the only remaining parts of the downed ship), find the blue “sail” from the ship, and more.  And of course, the final clue told them that X MARKS THE SPOT.  (Luckily, we had a leftover stepping stone and some spray paint to make the perfect X.)

 

Only we couldn’t just hand a MAP to the hunters…  It needed to be special!  We decided on a green wine bottle.  Perfect! 

 

Only then, we needed a CORK…  Quick trip to some neighbors solved that one.

 

We wanted to bury the chest, but we didn’t want it to get ruined in the moist sand.  We decided to wrap it in fabric.  But the fabric needed to be rustic, too, so we dyed it with coffee.

 

Remember how I told you this project blossomed in scope??  Believe me now?  We worked on this baby for 5 days!

 

And today was GO DAY!  We headed to the beach to bury the booty.  David did the digging, and then made the sand around the area look normal again.  We plopped the X stone down and we were ready to go!!

 

Burying the fabric wrapped chest

X marks the spot.

But how to choose the children to treat??  That was a tricky part!!  We knew we wanted:

-          A kid or kids young enough to still believe in magic

-          Parents who would be ok with us involving their kids

-          Parents or an older sibling who could assist in hunt

 

We looked around the beach a bit before finding a group of 4 kids.  2 were young – probably 5 and 6, and 2 were older – probably 11 and 12.  When they were busy splashing in the water we checked in with the parents, who okayed our request.

 

Then we got to work!

 

We put the green glass bottle into the water and then “found” it.  We walked it over to the kids and explained that this just washed up “over there - near the mast” (trying to help them with a clue they would soon see 😊 ).  I held it out and asked the little girl if she would like to open it to see what the note inside said.  She shook her head no, and I wondered if all of this work was going to be for naught…  Maybe WE were the only ones who thought a treasure hunt sounded fun??

 

Oh my- a note in a bottle?  What might this be?

But then her older sister took the bottle, and the magic began!!

 

We walked away to let them hunt (and we settled into a spot to watch!).  Oh, they were so cute!!  They loved the green bottle.  One kid was filling it up with water as another read the note aloud.  They seemed to take a while to read and study the note, but once they began following the instructions they were all in! 

 

They RAN the 20 paces!

They hollered “AHOY MATEY, WE ARE ON A TREASURE HUNT!” with glee.

They spun around 4 times (that part made me smile – they were very committed!).

They splashed as instructed.

Splashing (see the map in her hand??)
Faces blurred for privacy.

They drew fish families. 

Drawing fish families in the sand (following the map directions perfectly!)
Faces blurred for privacy.

They found the “mast” in the water.

They walked the required number of paces towards to dune.

Then they started looking for the blue sail…

 

Oops…  Another family had a blue sunshade set up, and that was a bit of a red herring.  They went to the sunshade and stood in front of the unsuspecting family 😊 .  We waved from a distance until they saw us, then pointed UP to the blue “sail” we were standing under.  And they came running!

 

On the way to the “sail” they hunted for the X that was marking the spot.  They were looking in the sand for it and luckily, the tiniest girl spotted it and squealed.  They rushed over, lifted the X stone, and the little one knelt down and started digging with her hands. 

 

We hadn’t buried it too deep (we weren’t sure if the hunters would have a sand shovel or not).  After moving away some sand she was excited to see the fabric, which we had tied closed with twine.  She grabbed an end of the twine and untied it, then pulled the fabric and box out of the hole. 

 

Those gems decorating it shone brightly in the sun.  It was so pretty!  They RAN back to their parents with the box still sealed and quickly plopped down on the sand to see what treasures awaited them.

 

Oh, they looked excited!  They dug through the shells and gems and necklaces and coins.  It was so sweet!  They found the little bottle inside with another note.  After they had examined it a while, the 3 biggest girls went back into the ocean (the smallest of the 3 now sporting a necklace from the chest).

 

Meanwhile, the youngest treasure hunter kept digging thru the bounty.  So.  Many.  Things!  Then she had the brilliant idea to dig a hole and re-bury everything 😊 .  After a bit of swimming she returned to dig it all back up again, show her mom a very special shell inside, and put on a necklace to adorn her swimsuit.

 

Oh my goodness this was a fun project.

 

It took a ton of time.

It took a lot of effort.

 

But it made us feel like kids again and I think it really delighted the children involved.  I can imagine that littlest girl starting school on Monday, ready for show and tell.

 

We have not added up the receipts yet to see how much Kindness money was spent making this magic happen, nor do I know how many hours we painted and glued and giggled and created.

 

But it was all worth it.  Because it was time and money well spent to create magic and spread kindness.  It gave us a purpose on some hot summer days, and it gave 4 kids a fun experience and a story to tell.

The Santa Project 2022 Summary!

I suppose the most logical way to write a summary of the 2022 Santa Project would be to do it NUMERICALLY.  You know, how many kids wrote letters to Santa, how much Kindness Activist money was used to buy the gifts, etc….

But the thing is, not much is LOGICAL about the Santa Project…

I guess the most simple way to give a summary would be to show a couple of the letters kids wrote to Santa and how Santa replied. 

But then, nothing about the Santa Project is SIMPLE either…

But the 2022 event finally wrapped up yesterday, January 22, 2023, so it is time to tackle the summary, however I figure out how to do it.  I want to share the results with you, I owe you a summary, so here goes!!

Deep breath.

Some letters to Santa come complete with portraits of the big man!

Whew – the Santa Project was exhausting!!!  I took some time off before it to spend visiting my family in Omaha, and as soon as the plane landed back in Arlington I hit the ground running.  The letter writing station opened on November 30^th and stayed up until around December 15^th.  During that time, over 200 people wrote letters to Santa – 212 people to be exact.  Compare that to year one (2020) when 111 people wrote.  Or to 2021 when 142 people wrote.  The project is growing!!

And those 212 people were not the only ones to receive gifts and letters from the big man at the North Pole.  Some special gifts were also given this year to folks in difficult situations that did not write, but Santa treated them anyway (17 people).  More about that in a bit.

During the Santa Project, our home (which we lovingly call the Big Yellow House) is over-run by it.  People stop by the station at all hours of the day and night and mail their letters in the special mailbox that goes straight to the North Pole.  Amazon boxes arrive in droves – there were so many deliveries this year that our porch was constantly covered in a sea of brown boxes and white padded envelopes.  Volunteers (called “elves” of course!) pop in and out everyday to wrap gift after gift after gift.  And I sit at my laptop and compose letter after letter after “will I ever finish???” letter from Santa to respond to the excited writers.  Each letter is unique – no copy and paste here.  Santa answers their questions.  Commends them on their drawing and writing.  Asks them questions.  Tells them funny stories.  And even gives secret behind-the-scenes details about the goings on at the North Pole! 

But no – taking on this herculean task isn’t enough!  Well, it is enough, but in my excitement, I forgot that it was, and so added even MORE to the holiday plate!!!  Not only did we have the annual countdown to Christmas advent calendar running (which has amazing treats and surprises for kids to come and find in colorful little cubbies from December 1 – 24….), but I also held craft sessions so kids could make gifts for a loved one!  Ahhhh – what was I thinking???  (Not to worry – a detailed “lessons learned” list was created and “HOST GIFT MAKING SESSIONS BEFORE THE SANTA PROJECT BEGINS” is written on it in bold letters…)  Oh, and I also set aside time to prep for and do an interview with the Washington Post about the project, smack dab in the middle of it!!  The story made the print edition (and online) on December 10^th.  I am very honored that Theresa Vargas wrote the piece and feel that it beautifully captures the spirit of the project.  I wish that you could hear the author read it aloud.  I had that honor and it made me cry.  Think about that!  I obviously knew the story – I had interviewed for it and was living it!  But hearing Ms. Vargas’ voice tell me the story over the phone was magical.  You can read it here:  Mrs. Claus Is Ready

Now, while this special project is going on, “regular life” must continue, too.  The Little Yellow Free Pantry must be filled.  The Daily Poll must be changed.  Bills must be paid.  Work must be done.  People who need to borrow fancy outfits to wear to holiday events must be shown the Fancy Outfit Library.  It is not like those normal daily activities PAUSE during Santa season…  (Though, in all honesty, things like cleaning the house, or going to the eye doctor at the scheduled time, or getting enough sleep – THOSE things were squeezed out of the calendar to make space for Santa.  And the task of making and writing our annual Christmas cards has still not happened, a month later!  Nor has buying gifts for my own friends and family!!!) 

But back to what you are here to read about – the SANTA PROJECT!!

Great drawing of Santa from Maddie!

Like all Kindness Activist projects, this one is not needs based.  This one is MAGIC BASED!

And as always, the letters from children were amazing, delightful, funny, sad, and every other emotion you can think of.  Some made me laugh out loud.  Some made me cry.  And some forced me to take photos of them to send to the adult connected with the writer to ask for a translation because I could not read what was written 😊 . 

For those new to this project, a little explanation.  We have a beautiful bright red shiny desk that sits in a place of honor in front of our home during Santa season.  On the desk are:  blank paper, envelopes, writing instruments (crayons, pens, colored pencils, pencils), and candy canes for those who finish their letter.  The instructions on the desk tell letter writers to include:  their name, their age, if they have been good or bad this year (this will change for 2023), 3 ideas of small gifts that Santa can choose from for them, and their adult’s name and phone number.  When they finish their letter, they seal it in an envelope and pop it in the mailbox labeled “North Pole” next to the desk (we got a shiny new mailbox this year!).  They then put the red mailbox flag up, and can be certain that their letter will reach Santa!! 

In reality, of course, the red flag means that we have INCOMING LETTERS so we rush out to retrieve them.  Each and every letter sent gets a reply from Santa (written by me).  The replies are by far my favorite part of the project.  They mean more to me than the gifts, because the letters from Santa are (in my opinion) where the magic happens!  And, because this is year 3 of this project, I have historical information that I can peek at to make the reply letters even more special!!  I can look back at last year’s spreadsheet and see that, for example, Lissy got Junie B. Jones books as part of her gift in 2021, and Vahn got wooden toy food to use to practice the fine motor skill of cutting.  That means Santa can mention those “secret things that only he knows” in this year’s letter!  For example, “Did you read those Junie B. Jones book I brought you last year??  Weren’t they so funny?!!” or “So Vahn, have you been having fun playing with the food the elves made for you last year??”.  And, because of the historical info, I can also sometimes see what is happening in the child’s family.  For example, if a child asked for a gift for a soon-to-be-born sibling in 2021, in 2022 I can congratulate them for being such a great big brother/sister.  Or, if they reported in 2021 that they had difficulty being good, Santa can check in on that and ask about improvements.  Or, like one letter writer, if they asked in 2021 for a Covid vaccine for children (an actual request), in 2022 Santa can celebrate with them that the vaccines are now available!  Being able to look back on past letters to and from Santa really helps to add more magic and, I think, stretch out the amount of time that little letter writers believe.  Many parents have commented that the letters are their favorite part, too.  Some parents tell me that they are saving the letters from Santa.  What an honor! 

One big change in the project this year was opening it up and asking for more HELP.  The first year, I did it all alone (well, I roped by partner David in to assist, but the vast majority was done by me).  In year two, I asked for volunteers to help WRAP GIFTS.  I quickly realized how invaluable that assistance was!!  And in year three, I made an Amazon Wish List and shared it with the public so that whoever wanted to get involved could grant wishes that were asked for in letters.  Oh.  My.  Goodness!!  I was bowled over by people’s generosity and support!!!!  In previous years, Kindness Activist funds covered the cost of all of the gifts.  This year, GENEROUS DONORS covered the majority!!!  Y’all amaze and inspire me!  The fact that people all around the country were willing to step in and buy gifts for kids they had never met, to fulfill wishes from letters they had not even read, blew me away.  Seriously, donated gifts arrived in Amazon boxes every day!!  Some had gift slips with the names of donors, others “Santa-ed” me and just signed the slips “Santa” or “an elf”.  I am still not caught up with writing all of the thank you notes for those gift donations.  Little by little, I am getting them done.  This was a very important lesson for me.  people.  Want.  To.  Help.  People want to be kind!!!  Sometimes they do not know where to go to express that desire or how to do it.  Giving them the opportunity to help fund this project allowed the load to be split – the cost spread out among many, many people.  This freed up Kindness Activist funds and will allow them to be used in many creative ways instead of spending such a large percentage of the total fund on the Santa Project.

At the Big Yellow House (aka the “North Pole”) it is not “one letter/one gift”.  Oh no siree.  I would guess that the average letter writer got 2 ½ gifts this year.  And EACH ONE was individually wrapped by volunteer elves who seemed to be in our basement every single day of the project.  The presents were gorgeous!!!  Each one also had a “topper” – a decorative item on top – to make them super special.  And each one was tagged and signed from Santa. 

As disorganized as it looks around the Big Yellow House during Santa season, there is some method to the madness.  This year David was in charge of alphabetizing the gifts so that they could be more easily retrieved when it was time to give them.  He set up tables all around the house – one held letters A – D, one E – G, you get the picture.  There were gift everywhere – on both floors of the house!  It was magnificent!!  Fun fact:  the most popular names in our area start with the letters A – I .

This is not close to all of the gifts!!  Some had already been picked up, some where still downstairs...  This is just when we came up for air and thought, "Hey, we better document this with a photo!"

I mentioned earlier that some people got gifts from Santa this year even though they did not write him a letter.  Those were special cases, like the woman who left a note in the Little Yellow Free Pantry asking for maseca (flour used to make tortillas), oil, and gifts for her children.  And the Amazon driver who made delivery after delivery after delivery – her sons got gifts from Santa.  And the two strong women who took in a teenager to provide foster care when it was desperately needed – they got a gift from Santa (as did the teen – the teen was showered with gifts from magical donors).  And the woman from Guatemala who works cleaning a neighbor’s home – she is a hard-worker, single parent with 6 daughters – THEY got gifts from Santa.  And the brother and sister who get a snack and drink at the Little Yellow Free Pantry everyday (because, as the girl explained, “Our mom has enough money to get food, but not snacks”) – Santa brought them gifts, too.  And the little boy who was visiting from Canada and walked over with his little friends so they could pick up gifts Santa had left them??  Oh yes, he got a gift.  And the kids of a neighbor struggling financially and emotionally – Santa knows.  Sometimes letters are not possible when life itself is overwhelming.  Santa gets it.

And, like everything in life, there were some special stories.  One family with 3 kids was going out of town for the holidays, so Santa was holding their gifts until they returned.  Only, while they were on vacation, their rental car got BROKEN INTO and the “bad guys” (as reported by the children) stole gifts that Santa (the other Santa, not this one…) had already given them!!  Well, they wrote another letter to this Santa, and, with some quick communication back and forth with their mother, the gifts were replaced when they got back to Arlington.  They were thrilled!

One adult wrote a letter that really touched my heart.

 

Obviously, Santa couldn’t bring him what he asked for, but David and I tried to track him down.  He had written his address on the letter but when we went there no one was home.  And the phone number he gave does not work.  But we will keep trying.  Santa can’t give his family a safe home, but Kindness Activist most certainly can hook him up with something nice.

One girl who wrote to Santa is in America as a refugee from Ukraine.  She and her mother are super sweet – quiet, kind, and nice people.  They seem relieved to have a safe place to stay while the war rages on in their home country, but are eager for peace to come to Ukraine so they can return.

 

Santa could not put an end to the bloodshed, but he most definitely granted every other wish this child asked. 

One girl included a gift for SANTA in her letter - $2!!  It was the sweetest thing and made me cry.  This Santa always roots for the underdog, and the meek and humble kids tend to get showered with gifts.  So not only did this girl get the Skittles she asked for, she got a lot more.

I LOVE that she referenced 3 holidays in her letter to Santa. 
We live in a very diverse community, and kids of many faiths wrote letters.

Sometimes the magic extends beyond the letter to Mr. Claus. A little boy showed up one foggy, drizzly evening to write a letter.  It was dark and the desk was damp, but we dried it off so he could sit down and compose.  When he was finished, he shyly interpreted for his mother, who wanted to ask if it was ok for them to take some items from the Little Yellow Free Pantry.  I explained that food is always available and is for everyone, and they should take whatever they need at any time.  I went in to the pantry supply area and packed some bags of groceries for them.  The mamma was very, very grateful.  After we loaded the things in their vehicle, she quietly asked the boy to interpret again.  She wanted to know if it would be ok to write a letter to Santa for another child, her grown son with Downs Syndrome.  Of course!!!  Second letter composed and “mailed”.  Then, before they left, she very meekly asked the son to interpret again.  Might it be possible, she asked, that I knew where they could get a bed??  It turned out that the family was in desperate need.  Mamma had gotten them out of a bad situation, and they had nothing.  Because I was already overwhelmed with everything Santa related, I could not take on the task of coordinating and collecting all that was needed.  But a volunteer quickly raised her hand, and the community stepped up to support the family.  In just a couple of days they had a bed, sheets (they had been sleeping on old mattresses on the floor with no sheets), new pillows, blankets, and other much needed items. 

I wish that I could scan and share loads of letters kids wrote here.  But this story is already long enough, so I will choose just a few to show you. 

This child was very PRECISE in his description of his behavior - 85% good!

Agreed!  The "elvs" are very cute!

"Art splis" you want, art splis you shall receive!

This child has got to be one of the very kindest in the world.  

Yeah for Cheez-Its!!

Girl stop.  You had me at DISCO BALL....

Beautiful drawing!

It's always good when kids DRAW what they want!  (At first I thought she was asking for broccoli...)

Envelope addressed to Santa

This one warmed my heart - he explained what his brother wanted, too.  Their mom sent a video after they opened the gifts, and he nailed it on the request for his brother!  It was perfect.

Sometimes you have to read them ALOUD to figure out the phonetic spelling :)  

Another honest report - this letter writer has struggled.  His mom provided additional details so that Santa could write a response that might help with some behavior.

I love this letter.  She is so honest in reporting her behavior and feelings.  Adults could learn a thing or two from her.  Also, she asked for a gift for her MOM instead of herself!!

This one cracked me up - under the scratch out he wrote "not this" - just in case Santa didn't understand.

Beautiful self-portrait of a writer

This one was very magical.  Her dad rang the doorbell a few days AFTER the letter writing station had closed.  He was desperate to find a place just to MAIL this letter to the North Pole that his daughter had already written.  I brought the mailbox back out, he brought the child around, and she mailed it.  Then we set about making the magic happen!  Only, there ARE NO SHORT HAIR MERMAID DOLLS!!  So an amazing neighbor who is a stylist gave a mermaid doll a great haircut.  And another neighbor donated a beautiful "feder"!  

Luckily Santa knows some elves that are great translators....

     

This one is addressed "Dear Santa".  Something must've happened between mailing THIS, and dropping off the thank you note that follows....

Isn't she sweet???  

Another very honest letter from a 5 year old who was both good and bad...

There will always be some wishes that are impossible for Santa to grant:

-         For me and my friends to be best friends forever

-         For an end to the bloodshed in Ukraine

-         A sister

-         Peace of mind and a home for my family

And just to be clear, being Santa is by no means a thankless job!  Lots of people express their gratitude.  One parent texted, “Thank you!  My kids loved the letter and present from Santa!  My youngest kept reading the letter the whole morning.  You have brought joy to this family!”.  Another wrote, “The girls LOVE their gifts and the thoughtful letters!  Bless you.”  From another, “Kids were over the moon with all your kind gifts.  Thank you so very much.  God bless!”.  One mom texted, “Thank you once more for making so many lives happier!”.  And sometimes kids themselves drop off thank you notes at our home (to be forwarded to the North Pole, obviously…).

Some behind the scenes details:

Popular asks for 2022:  Lego, Squishmallows, stuffies, Pokemon, Hot Wheels

Some of my favorite gifts:  hot sauce, hoola hoop, Skittles, a short haired mermaid Barbie, art supplies, Play Doh, Hot Wheels garage (it was huge – for 2 brothers – their eyes LIT UP when they saw the size of the box), wooden food, a cool school bus, a garbage truck, a little mamma cat with a zipper in her tummy that when you unzipped it, revealed KITTENS (it was a bit “c-section” looking but very cute), a HUGE Hershey kiss, “treasures or gems” (aka shiny rocks), and Cheez-Its (yes, someone asked for Cheez-Its). 

Funniest wrapping: Elf Betsy is an expert wrapper, and she got ahead of me and couldn’t wrap more gifts, because I did not have letters from Santa ready.  So, she really took her time on the one gift that was ready: a small Nintendo Switch game.  She wrapped it in a box.  Then wrapped that box in another box.  And that box in another box…  And on and on and on.  The end result was a BIG PRESENT that weighed very little.  I was able to witness the boy come to pick it up, and he looked both surprised and confused….  He had only asked for the one thing, the small game cartridge.  Yet here he was getting a big box.  I wish I could’ve watched him open it!

KINDNESS ACTIVIST FUNDS USED:  $1561.09 (this includes shipping a few gifts, a new tree skirt for the Community Tree of Celebration where the gifts were all displayed for pick-up, some ribbons and wrapping paper, batteries for gifts that needed them, and gifts!)  This number would have been SO MUCH HIGHER without the generous support of people all around the country who pitched in and granted wishes from the Amazon wish list!  Thank you!

Thank yous go out to:

·       Countless elves for wrapping tons of gifts

·       Donors of wrapping paper, boxes, and ribbon

·       Friends who knew we were not eating right and delivered meals 

·       Gifts of homemade cookies and treats

·       Magical elves who delivered gifts to households who could not come pick them up or who we only had an address for

·       Gifts of bottles of wine (aka “elf juice”) that kept us going

·       Elves who heard my pleas to run to Target to pick up gifts I had ordered and brought them back to our house

·       Jessica for making the letters for the new mailbox and sign

·       Adults willing to let the kids in their lives participate in the magic

·       Pantry volunteers who helped out keeping the pantry stocked when I could not find the time or energy to do it

·       Ixi and Ivanna who translated lots of Santa letters into Spanish

·       Vera who translated letters into Ukrainian

·       The many, many donors who granted gifts from the Amazon wish list – because of your generosity, Kindness Activist funds will be able to be used for many, many more projects and surprises this year!

·       Adults who trusted us to take care of your kids while they made crafts to give as gifts

·       Donors who kept food and toiletries coming for the Little Yellow Free Pantry during the chaos of December

·       Heather who helped with the Fancy Outfit Library holiday rush

·       Theresa Vargas of the Washington Post, who so eloquently captured the essence of the project

·       Heather, stylist extraordinaire, who gave a mermaid Barbie a bob and reglued the package so it looked like she came that way

·       Parents who sent photos and videos of their kids reading their letters from Santa and opening their gift

·       And anyone else who, in my exhaustion, I have overlooked

#ItTakesAVillage

#HolidayMagic

#SantaProject

#KindnessActivist 

#BelieveInTheMagic