They started out by giving all the kids there (biological, adopted or wards of the state) Christmas t-shirts so they all looked the same and "stood out." Then we all gathered around in a circle, all the adults were on the outside and all the kids were to be in the middle and we all held hands and prayed for the kids and for the meal! They begin every year's party this way! So cool!
Then everyone went inside and were served a big meal with hamburgers, hot dogs, macaroni salad, baked beans, potato chips and pop. All you can eat. And never once did they run out of food! Also inside the building they had face painting, CLOWNS GALORE goofing around with all the kids, balloon animals, stuffed animals, Christmas tree ornament decorating, etc. Soon we moved outdoors where Santa actually flew in on a helicopter while they played "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town." DARLING! You should've seen the kids' reactions. PRICELESS. It actually brought tears to my eyes just thinking about what so many of these kids have been through and where they were at in their lives all the way from a few days old up to seniors in high school! HURTING, ABUSED, NEGLECTED and to see them get SPOILED ROTTEN was nothing less than BLESSING for me to see. Once Santa arrived, Mrs. Claus met up with him off the helicopter and then they settled in giving gifts to every last child there. They also had an opportunity to tell Santa what was on their "wish list" so he could note for later on in the season. They had sno cones, cotton candy, tootsie rolls, cake, and bouncer house. It seemed endless. Our kids were EXHAUSTED when it was all through and they were in bed tonight at 6:30 and SOUND ASLEEP!
THANK YOU ELKS FOR SUCH A GREAT PARTY!!!!!!!!!!!
The big circle of LOVE!!!
Look at all those drinks ready to serve on the counter!
Ezra's INITIAL reaction to the clowns!!! :) He was definitely hesitant at first!
Laine getting his face painted!
The dinosaur! Upon Laine's request!
Downing the yummy hamburger!
Daddy, Chavalah & Laine making an ornament.
Ezra getting a "Rudolph" nose! He was SO DARN CUTE!
He thought it was pretty neat! The clown showed him in the mirror!
Ezra absolutely LOVED this particular clown!He kept walking back to see him and he'd just STARE!
All the gifts for the kids! Unbelievable!
Our family all in one piece right before daddy had to leave to go to work early! :(
Santa Clause finally arrived after all that anticipation!
Anybody that wanted could go right up to the helicopter and look in and sit in the cockpit!
Captain Laine
Ezra wasn't too sure!
Watching the man make the cotton candy! Watching in anticipation!
INDULGING! All rules went out the door today! :)
Ezra was madly in love with his new frog friend! Not Kermit the Frog!
Need I explain this!? :)
The kids' gifts! Incredibly generous!
2 comments:
WOW! That really is amazing and a ton of fun! I can't believe they received that many gifts, not just one! How many kids do you think were there?
You know, Rachel, that's a good question. There were close to 130 families there. Or at least signed up to come, and each family averaged 2-4 kids. (that included biological, adopted or wards of the state) So, probably close to 300 kids total. I may be way off, but this is my closest guess.
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