‘Tis The Season

C H R I S T M A S is the most wonderful time of the year

When we think of the holidays we think of spending time with family, Christmas lights, decorating the tree, holiday cookies and baking, gingerbread houses, crazy family traditions, hot chocolate, tacky sweaters, Jesus, snuggling up by the fire, the New Year, a white Christmas, ABC Family’s 25 Days of Christmas, Santa and the North Pole, elves and the reindeer, presents, hot chocolate, and all of the “warm and fuzzy” feelings the holidays bring.

No matter how awful your year may have been it is always Christmas that can bring cheer to everyone who seeks it. It is the season of giving and giving back. I always feel the most blessed around the holidays because my parents have always gone above and beyond each year to make sure me and my brother had the perfect Christmas no matter what and I am beyond thankful for all of the perfect holidays they have provided and will continue to provide me with as the years go on.

Unfortunately, there are so many kids who will be deprived of the perfect holiday they deserve this Christmas simply because their parent’s don’t have the means to provide it. Have you ever noticed the Christmas trees in grocery stores, banks, churches, and local businesses around town with little tags hanging on them, or do you just pass on by?

My mom is the President of the Argyle Angel Tree and I get the pleasure of working along side her every year. For those of you who are not familiar, they are the ones who find the families, make those tags, put up those trees, and make sure kids are given the perfect Christmas they deserve.

If you have never seen an Angel Tree tag, the picture on the left is a very basic example of one. Children will always have more than one tag, usually about 8 or 9 depending on the capacity and the area you’re in. On the application the parents are encouraged to write toys, books, shoes, bikes, electronics, or whatever their child has had their eye on. A lot of the time, I see little kids writing what they want. Maybe they think it’s a letter to Santa, and in a way, it is. Some of the kids don’t hold back on what they ask for but others are far more conservative. I have seen a six year old boy write about how he wanted a coat over GI Joes otherwise he wouldn’t have one for Winter. No child should have to ask “Santa” for essentials on Christmas.  My mom and the other members have recently started adding tags for the parents, too. These tags simply ask for gift cards to grocery stores and department stores. This gives them the ability to have a nice Christmas meal and enough money to buy the essentials that may not be covered on the children’s tags. I say “kids” and “children” but it is so much more; the age varies from newborn all the way up to eighteen years old.

“I do not give because I have much, I give because I know what it feels like to have nothing”

I have actually had the opportunity to hand deliver the toys and other things that people buy for these people and the pure joy and gratefulness in their eyes is something I’ll never be able to explain. It is quite often we have people cry and hug us for everything we’ve done, but the truth is, it’s not me who did it all – it’s you guys. It is every single person who picks up a tag, goes shopping, and adopts an angel, which is what they truly are, little angels.

You are the gift that Santa can’t give. A chance.

A chance to be someone’s Christmas miracle.

My family adopts at least one, but often several angels every Christmas and it has become tradition to all go together to go shop for them. It is something we look forward to. My mom and the Argyle Angel Tree volunteers had every single one of their tags taken (keep in mind that’s 8-9 PER child – about 100 kids) with several requests for more which means these families are going to have the perfect Christmas holiday we all deserve.

It isn’t about making sure someone has gifts under their tree, it is about so much more. It is about the experience and the feeling of God work through you so powerfully. You are giving them so much more than just legos, you are saying that a complete stranger cares about them enough to make sure that their Christmas was as perfect as it could be, which is something they won’t soon forget. There is just something about Christmas and holiday spirit that brings out the best in people.

This Christmas, if you pass one of these Christmas trees with little tags on them, take the time to pick one out and adopt one of these sweet angels. I promise you won’t regret it.

I provided the link for the Argyle Angel Tree at Cross Timbers and I will work on finding churches in San Marcos and Austin who participate.

Related articles

• Electrifying Christmas Tree Lightings (di4hms.wordpress.com)
• Salvation Army Needs Donations For Angel Tree Program (newschannel9.com)
• Salvation Army Debuts ‘Red Box Campaign’ (ny1.com)
• More than 400 Kids Could Go Without Christmas Presents (wtvy.com)