The Birdhouse Lady
Drama Llama
Moose. It's what's for dinner.
Posts: 7,173
Location: Alaska -The Last Frontier
Jun 30, 2014 17:15:19 GMT
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Post by The Birdhouse Lady on Dec 1, 2016 22:47:05 GMT
My daughter and I each took a tag from the Angel Tree. I have a 7 year old girl and my daughter picked a teen.
My question is....Are these the only gifts that these kids are going to get? Do they get to sign up for different programs?
Do you know anyone who was a recipient of these donated gifts?
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Post by KikiPea on Dec 1, 2016 22:49:00 GMT
I can't answer your questions, but we always by their want, as well as all clothing items listed, plus underwear and socks.
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The Birdhouse Lady
Drama Llama
Moose. It's what's for dinner.
Posts: 7,173
Location: Alaska -The Last Frontier
Jun 30, 2014 17:15:19 GMT
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Post by The Birdhouse Lady on Dec 1, 2016 22:52:39 GMT
I can't quit thinking about this little girl who wants a Strawberry Shortcake doll!
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Post by vspindler on Dec 1, 2016 23:01:17 GMT
My daughter and I shopped from a giving tree last year. I was trying to get her to learn about the giving part of the season. She was heartbroken over some of the things that were asked for, and wanted to buy for them all. (Like the elderly woman who wanted a hairbrush.) she was also concerned about them having enough food, so we also went to the grocery and bought some items to donate to the food pantry but also donated some Christmas candy as well.
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Post by sabrinae on Dec 1, 2016 23:05:32 GMT
For most kids the gifts are mostly what they get. The parents may supplement some. Here are tree is run by children services and includes families the agency is working with as well families that agency staff know need help. There is also a public application period.
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Post by Basket1lady on Dec 1, 2016 23:06:17 GMT
I can't quit thinking about this little girl who wants a Strawberry Shortcake doll!
Target has the classic doll from the 80s in the retro toy section! Different programs work different ways. Our HS adopts a family every year. Different departments get different kids. Psychology has a 4 year old girl and theatre has a 5 year old boy... for them, we buy as much as we want. There's a big wish, a complete set of clothes including shoes and a coat, toys, etc. The family also gets grocery money and groceries for a a holiday meal. Our church does an angel tree with very specific requests-Star Wars lego, Frozen playdough set, a bike... For those, they ask that we only buy that one specific item. That way each child in the family has the same number of gifts.
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Post by aniheartsjapan on Dec 1, 2016 23:15:12 GMT
When I was a child, my parents were out of work one year due to layoffs and they signed us up for the angel tree. What we received from the angel tree was all we were given from my parents, but my grandparents also gave us gifts as well.
I work with underprivileged children in our community at my church and they getangel tree gifts and mostly it's all they get.
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pudgygroundhog
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,643
Location: The Grand Canyon
Jun 25, 2014 20:18:39 GMT
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Post by pudgygroundhog on Dec 1, 2016 23:23:19 GMT
My daughter and I each took a tag from the Angel Tree. I have a 7 year old girl and my daughter picked a teen.
My question is....Are these the only gifts that these kids are going to get? Do they get to sign up for different programs?
Do you know anyone who was a recipient of these donated gifts? I think agencies help identify and sign people up and often that is all they will get. We don't do an Angel Tree, but do adopt a family. It's pretty sad to see what they have listed for "needs" - like basic clothing items, blankets, gift cards for groceries. We always take care of their needs as well as wishes and throw in extra gift cards if we can.
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twinsmomfla99
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,986
Jun 26, 2014 13:42:47 GMT
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Post by twinsmomfla99 on Dec 1, 2016 23:29:35 GMT
My daughter and I each took a tag from the Angel Tree. I have a 7 year old girl and my daughter picked a teen.
My question is....Are these the only gifts that these kids are going to get? Do they get to sign up for different programs?
Do you know anyone who was a recipient of these donated gifts? I think agencies help identify and sign people up and often that is all they will get. We don't do an Angel Tree, but do adopt a family. It's pretty sad to see what they have listed for "needs" - like basic clothing items, blankets, gift cards for groceries. We always take care of their needs as well as wishes and throw in extra gift cards if we can. When we do an Angel tree, we ask for a family if possible. That way, the kids are getting similar amounts. I know when some people pick from the tree, they are only buying one item off the list, but others go all out and get everything on the list. I think it would be so sad for one child in the family to get a single gift while the other got everything they asked for. I have helped do the shopping for different groups that were raising money to help a child at Christmas, and we always tried to get a group of siblings if we had sufficient funds to do so.
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Post by Neisey on Dec 1, 2016 23:39:13 GMT
We buy for Angel Tree children through our local Food Bank. Each child has three Angels on the tree. We usually choose 2 girls of my own girls' ages and we shop for the wish item on the angel tag and top up the gift with other age appropriate stuff.
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pudgygroundhog
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,643
Location: The Grand Canyon
Jun 25, 2014 20:18:39 GMT
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Post by pudgygroundhog on Dec 1, 2016 23:42:32 GMT
I think agencies help identify and sign people up and often that is all they will get. We don't do an Angel Tree, but do adopt a family. It's pretty sad to see what they have listed for "needs" - like basic clothing items, blankets, gift cards for groceries. We always take care of their needs as well as wishes and throw in extra gift cards if we can. When we do an Angel tree, we ask for a family if possible. That way, the kids are getting similar amounts. I know when some people pick from the tree, they are only buying one item off the list, but others go all out and get everything on the list. I think it would be so sad for one child in the family to get a single gift while the other got everything they asked for. I have helped do the shopping for different groups that were raising money to help a child at Christmas, and we always tried to get a group of siblings if we had sufficient funds to do so. I agree - it is nice to do a full family because we can make it as even as we can and also give gifts the whole family can enjoy (sometimes we'll get things like a big tub of popcorn and snacks, movie gift cards, a family game, etc).
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AnotherPea
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,968
Jan 4, 2015 1:47:52 GMT
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Post by AnotherPea on Dec 2, 2016 1:04:40 GMT
I volunteered at the SA distribution center for two years. After that I could no longer bring myself to donate. Upon chatting with others that did the same, I discovered that the abuse of the system was typical.
Yes, typically the children get from multiple agencies.
We just got back from buying for a family that dd's school club adopted. This family was selected by the school social worker. The kids are teens and seldom get items through other agencies. Usually it is just younger kids that sign up with Salvation Army.
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Post by melanell on Dec 2, 2016 1:11:13 GMT
My experience with angel trees is that you get a wish list for each person. At work, we used to give one wish list (or one person in need) to a group of employees and we would chip in and get the entire list.
Now, at our schools, we split the list up, writing every single item on a tag, and people can buy 1 item, but ultimately the majority of each wishlist is filled.
In both of those cases the Angel Tree gifts may have been all they received, but that involved more than one gift per person. So, for instance, if our school has a tag for socks, the child needs socks, but the socks won't be all they are getting.
People can try to sign up for/participate in more than one program, but time frames, deadlines, self-transport vs. delivery, family member ages, limits, etc. can make it so that some people aren't able to really take advantage of all that's available, while others are more likely to participate in several. I think it's often the ones who feel they will be able to pull something off on their own and so they don't look for help until the last minute that really find themselves unable to receive help, which is sad. They don't want to sign up for what they hope they won't need, but things don't always work out that way in the end.
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Post by bigbundt on Dec 2, 2016 1:17:49 GMT
I volunteered at the distribution center for two years. After that I could no longer bring myself to donate. Upon chatting with others that did the same, I discovered that the abuse of the system was typical. Yes, typically the children get from multiple agencies. I've also heard this from a few people I know who have volunteered. We stopped doing Angel and Giving Trees because we used to get everything on the tag but there came a point where we could no longer afford to get the items most kids were requesting. We still tried until I had a friend whose job takes her into the homes of low income clients (children) who typically receive items from these programs say don't even bother. She noticed that most of those high price items (like game systems and electronics) were gone a few weeks after Christmas and when she asked the kids what happened to them, they told her their parents sold them. We now do Adopt a Senior because we feel the seniors are asking for things they NEED and the program is less likely to be abused. Unless they are selling those slippers and cases of Ensure.
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StephDRebel
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,665
Location: Ohio
Jul 5, 2014 1:53:49 GMT
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Post by StephDRebel on Dec 2, 2016 6:18:35 GMT
My experience with angel trees is that you get a wish list for each person. At work, we used to give one wish list (or one person in need) to a group of employees and we would chip in and get the entire list. Now, at our schools, we split the list up, writing every single item on a tag, and people can buy 1 item, but ultimately the majority of each wishlist is filled. In both of those cases the Angel Tree gifts may have been all they received, but that involved more than one gift per person. So, for instance, if our school has a tag for socks, the child needs socks, but the socks won't be all they are getting. People can try to sign up for/participate in more than one program, but time frames, deadlines, self-transport vs. delivery, family member ages, limits, etc. can make it so that some people aren't able to really take advantage of all that's available, while others are more likely to participate in several. I think it's often the ones who feel they will be able to pull something off on their own and so they don't look for help until the last minute that really find themselves unable to receive help, which is sad. They don't want to sign up for what they hope they won't need, but things don't always work out that way in the end. This. We've started waiting and then asking around a week or so before Christmas and then letting the family know we are going to bring a few things. We've even called social services, head start , and other agencies and said 'we know the cut off was ages ago and you'll have someone come in who really needs help. We would love to help. We've always found amazing families to help
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tincin
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,368
Jul 25, 2014 4:55:32 GMT
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Post by tincin on Dec 2, 2016 6:26:01 GMT
I volunteered at the SA distribution center for two years. After that I could no longer bring myself to donate. Upon chatting with others that did the same, I discovered that the abuse of the system was typical. Yes, typically the children get from multiple agencies. We just got back from buying for a family that dd's school club adopted. This family was selected by the school social worker. The kids are teens and seldom get items through other agencies. Usually it is just younger kids that sign up with Salvation Army. I'm not certain how long it has been since you volunteered but in my area, the agencies use a computer process to keep people from abusing the system. When people sign up, the agencies list them so that the other agencies can prevent duplication. Save
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Post by ten&rose on Dec 2, 2016 6:49:54 GMT
Know that if you are adopting military connected children through Operation Homefront or local agencies, the names are shared and families can't double dip. The Financial NCO helps tracks who applies and is eligible for what. If you are in the Colorado area please please please donate new unwrapped toys, books and board games to Mountainpost Santa's Workshop. Families are able to "shop" for their kiddos and provide a lovely holiday for them. Also 99.999%%% of cash donations go directly towards kids. They pay $1 for rent on the building and I believe their utilities are covered and it is staffed entirely by volunteers.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
May 16, 2024 17:36:18 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Dec 2, 2016 8:14:37 GMT
The angel tree at our mall is not for a particular child.
And on a personal note: I saw a family get a huge bag of stuff, plus a box of food. The parents let the kids tear into the bag. The mom used the bag as a garbage sack and threw out all the plastic toys, dolls and stuff animals. She put the clothes in to another sack " to take to the consignment store" or if it had tags, back to the store for cash. She went through the food and only kept the cookies, sugar, and the bag of chips.
We go with adopting a family.
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Post by ScrapsontheRocks on Dec 2, 2016 9:05:23 GMT
Not directly on point but another effort that I loved to support lost me a couple of years ago- Caveat: maybe it was just the collection centre closest to me that was "bent". It is quite possible only a few bad apples spoiled it for me. SA is big on Santa's shoebox where donors are encouraged to do a set of basics for the next year at school (age dependent), a somewhat festive clothing item, some basic hygiene items and then only do they ask for an age appropriate toy. I loved the challenge of shopping for something really nice and yet having it all fit in the box. As the requests are so modest multiple boxes were a breeze. Long story short- I am familiar with the drop off point near me and due to horrendous traffic and a good look at the congested parking lot as I went by I went round the block and entered at the back. I observed the volunteers having a good rummage through a pile of boxes and I am pretty sure they all had a swag bag of their own. Not cool. To counteract this bad story, a heartwarming one from our papers this week: Matric pupils, on finishing their last exam, are encouraged to literally step out of their old persona by leaving their shoes, uniforms, backpacks and basic stationery for an underprivileged learner. Of course the kids and parents go above & beyond and piles of new stuff get donated
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Post by Spongemom Scrappants on Dec 2, 2016 11:59:15 GMT
I had one experience while doing this that forever changed me.
One year, I took my children to make deliveries on Christmas eve to four families that our church had adopted for Christmas. Three of the drop-offs went as expected -- the adults expressed appreciation and the kids were excited.
The final one broke my heart. The three children ranged from 9-15. The mom looked beat down and exhausted. When we knocked on the door, it opened right up because the whole knob/lock had been ripped right out of it. The kitchen floor had two holes in it and you could see through to the dirt below the house.
We had clothes for all of them wrapped up including undergarments, shoes and coats. Each child was receiving several beautifully wrapped gifts like toys and sports equipment. A complete holiday meal was provided. And we had extra pantry type groceries to leave with them.
One of the twin boys finally asked if it was okay to go ahead and open some of it. I said sure if it's okay with your mom. Y'all... he grabbed the loaf of bread and the peanut butter and carefully made sandwiches for them all. They were obviously so hungry. All those beautifully wrapped packages... and he went straight for the simplest food just to fill a gnawing hunger.
Long story short - there were many needs in that family including abusive family members and "neighbors" who broke in and stole what ever small things they did get. No electricity at times and dysfunctional plumbing. The girl told me that she and her brothers slept in their good clothes and shoes so they wouldn't be stolen. Our church ended up taking them on as a long-term project. We got the home fixed and secure. We mentored the kids. We provided school supplies and fees for school activities. We helped mom with several issues. It became a relationship. I'm FB friends with one of the now-grown boys and he's doing okay in life.
Sure, there are people who abuse giving programs. But then there are families like this.
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Post by melanell on Dec 2, 2016 13:24:44 GMT
My experience with angel trees is that you get a wish list for each person. At work, we used to give one wish list (or one person in need) to a group of employees and we would chip in and get the entire list. Now, at our schools, we split the list up, writing every single item on a tag, and people can buy 1 item, but ultimately the majority of each wishlist is filled. In both of those cases the Angel Tree gifts may have been all they received, but that involved more than one gift per person. So, for instance, if our school has a tag for socks, the child needs socks, but the socks won't be all they are getting. People can try to sign up for/participate in more than one program, but time frames, deadlines, self-transport vs. delivery, family member ages, limits, etc. can make it so that some people aren't able to really take advantage of all that's available, while others are more likely to participate in several. I think it's often the ones who feel they will be able to pull something off on their own and so they don't look for help until the last minute that really find themselves unable to receive help, which is sad. They don't want to sign up for what they hope they won't need, but things don't always work out that way in the end. This. We've started waiting and then asking around a week or so before Christmas and then letting the family know we are going to bring a few things. We've even called social services, head start , and other agencies and said 'we know the cut off was ages ago and you'll have someone come in who really needs help. We would love to help. We've always found amazing families to help This is a great idea. Save
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Post by melanell on Dec 2, 2016 13:37:21 GMT
Any program can be abused. It happens. But just like with day to day programs, if you focus on those "working the system" you leave those truly in need with no help. So we choose to donate as if every donation is going to the appropriate people. Most of the donations we make have limitations on them that really cut back on making them resale worthy. If you have a $15 or $20 limit on a toy or gift, a family can go to the trouble to return it, but they won't get a lot out of it, and if they try to sell it, their return will be even less. That being said, if we donate clothing, we always leave the tags on and provide a gift slip. I know transportation can be spotty for some families, but I also know that sizes vary widely. A slip of paper telling me that a girl wears size 5 can still lead to me donating pants that are too short or that fall right off of her. Maybe it will lead to someone cashing in on their kid's gift for themselves, but maybe it will help a 5 year old have a new pair of properly fitting pants. This year we became aware of one program that collects lightly used items, so in that case, the monetary value is even less. The only program we participate in that does not have limits is our school district's program, and those families are ones the schools help all year long with multiple programs. Their is a continuing face to face relationship between certain district employees (nurses & counselors in our schools) and the families being helped each year.
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Post by Tammiem2pnc1 on Dec 2, 2016 13:59:43 GMT
I hate to admit this, but we were the recipients of an angel tree from our local food bank for several years in a row. I can tell you that from that experience our boys only got from the people who picked their name. We didn't get from Toys For Tots or any other organization. They pretty much bought everything from their list plus some. We never asked for much, but for needed items such as coats and gloves. Thankfully we are no longer in that position and I am hoping by next year we will be in an even better position so we can pick names off the angel tree. DH and I did it many years ago before we had kids of our own and the simple things these children were asking for was just heart wrenching.
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Post by snugglebutter on Dec 2, 2016 15:08:42 GMT
In this area the agencies cross-check with each other too.
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Kerri W
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,769
Location: Kentucky
Jun 25, 2014 20:31:44 GMT
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Post by Kerri W on Dec 2, 2016 15:15:59 GMT
I volunteered at the distribution center for two years. After that I could no longer bring myself to donate. Upon chatting with others that did the same, I discovered that the abuse of the system was typical. Yes, typically the children get from multiple agencies. I've also heard this from a few people I know who have volunteered. We stopped doing Angel and Giving Trees because we used to get everything on the tag but there came a point where we could no longer afford to get the items most kids were requesting. We still tried until I had a friend whose job takes her into the homes of low income clients (children) who typically receive items from these programs say don't even bother. She noticed that most of those high price items (like game systems and electronics) were gone a few weeks after Christmas and when she asked the kids what happened to them, they told her their parents sold them. I belong to a small service group at church and we approach school counselors/other professionals working in the schools to give us a personal recommendation of a family that might need help. We are generally matched with a single parent who just simply needs some help and most often doesn't meet the qualifications for the larger programs. This year it's a single mom of three who is a teacher and her husband just walked out on them a few weeks ago taking their savings with him. She has no extra anything right now and needs a helping hand. SaveSave I'm not certain how long it has been since you volunteered but in my area, the agencies use a computer process to keep people from abusing the system. When people sign up, the agencies list them so that the other agencies can prevent duplication. Save I wish that was the way it worked in our area, but I know for a fact that it does not. There is huge abuse of the "system."
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peagia13
Full Member
Posts: 166
Sept 2, 2016 19:52:32 GMT
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Post by peagia13 on Dec 2, 2016 15:18:35 GMT
Is there some rule that someone in need of assistance should only participate in one program?
It's more blessed to give than receive. Generosity is its own reward. If you are so jacked up over people playing by your rules--especially children at Christmas--you have probably missed the point of giving.
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Kerri W
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,769
Location: Kentucky
Jun 25, 2014 20:31:44 GMT
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Post by Kerri W on Dec 2, 2016 15:21:43 GMT
Sure, there are people who abuse giving programs. But then there are families like this. I think this is the biggest takeaway. Yes, abuse happens. But *so very much good* also happens. Don't let a bad experience dissuade you from helping. SaveSave
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Post by lbp on Dec 2, 2016 15:31:42 GMT
I never thought about siblings getting different amounts of things. Anyway, I have an angel from the Salvation Army tree and her name is Pandora! I love that. She has asked for Frozen dolls and accessories and I can't wait to get them. I always buy a few toys, plus shirt, pants, socks, hat, gloves, etc... I did notice when scrolling through the angels that many of them were asking for gaming systems, which are out of my price range.
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msladibug
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,533
Jul 10, 2014 2:31:46 GMT
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Post by msladibug on Dec 2, 2016 16:11:35 GMT
I want to say that sometimes m what you may see as abuse of the programs is not abuse but need. There are families that do abuse for sure. Some families return the more expensive gifts to the store for the cash, buy their kids dollars store toys or items that they can get more fore the money. For example those great socks that come in a package of three for $9.99 and take the cash and go to dollar tree and buy 9 pairs of socks or the take that family gift of a game console and return it, buy their kids less expensive gifts and use the money to keep the heat/electricity on. So you really never know.
I think there are also charities that take advantage of people's charitable hearts. The charity gets the donations but every year they( the charity) has some disaster fire, theft, flood etc. I understand there are disasters that are unforseen, but the same charity every year?
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Deleted
Posts: 0
May 16, 2024 17:36:18 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Dec 2, 2016 17:24:48 GMT
We help host a great program in our community called Christmas for Everyone. Families in need sign up and different groups can host them. We are hosting 25 families (a total of 75 kids this year). We sponsor the kids and get them each $45 worth of gifts. Then the families come to our church to pick up the bags of gifts and also shop themselves from tables of additional items so they can participate in picking things out for their kids. We have cookies, hot chocolate and wrap their gifts with them, if they want. We also send them home with a bag of gloves for the family, a book to read together, a food for a meal and some other goodies. It is a fun time and we enjoy meeting the parents and getting to spend time with them.
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