Santa's coming to town!

Last year we decided to visit Dave's parents at Tideview Terrace where they are staying.

We also decided to have fun with it.

Read about it here

We only had enough stuffed toys to do the two houses his parents are in.

But the residents enjoyed it so much, we were determined to find enough stuffed toys for everyone this year. That meant 90 stuffed toys and 90 stuffed toys to wrap also.

So I've been collecting stuffed toys all year long.

I'd go to thrift stores and buy some. My mom would go and find some also.

By the end, I was missing a dozen or so.

So I put an ad on Facebook and got a whole bunch there also.

By the time I was done I had more than enough.

(But there's always next year ;) )

We were going to bring Emilie the elf like we had done last year.

But I couldn't find her new costume I had bought for her anywhere!

I had even written on the calendar where I had put it, so this year I'd know where it was.

But it was gone....we didn't need it anyway. Emilie passed away a week before the event.

So after I had wrapped 100 gifts (just in case some young children were there visiting their grandparents) Santa and I hopped in his trusty sleigh (GMC Sierra) and off we went.

This is what 100 gifts and a Santa suit looks like

Santa had also had surgery 3 weeks before the visit and couldn't lift anything more than 5 pounds.

So guess who lugged the bags?

I'm telling you...it's not cold in those places. By the time we were done, 

I was sweating, I mean glowing, profusely. 

Santa was soaking wet!!

But everyone had an awesome time.

Because of privacy issues, I can't put up pictures of the residents. So I'm posting some of Santa's parents and a friend of the family.

It's so much fun seeing the smiles on their faces. It's worth all the glowing and work we have to do before hand.  Next year we'll hopefully be able to bring Simonne as the elf since some of the residents love the animal connection as much as the Santa visit.

I hope ya'll had an awesome Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Have a Blessed Day

Lisa

It's the Most Busiest Time of the Year!!!

Before Christmas was a busy time, ok busier than usual.

Our Christmas tree farmer friend called and said he had trees for us!

Yay!

So off to the woods we went. It was one of the only weekends we had snow this year.

It was so pretty, but alas, it didn't last long.

I had to sit on the trees so Dave could strap them down.

Then I had this brain wave to take Jamie's stuffed toys that were in the attic still in perfect condition and bring them to Tideview Terrace, where Dave's parents are living now.

So Dave dressed in Santa and we brought Emilie as his sidekick.  I had enough toys for the houses where both his parents are living. That's 18 toys.  Next year I want to collect enough for all the houses. There's ten houses with 9 residents in each "house". So I have to collect 90 stuffed toys!!!

I've already begun going to thrift stores to buy gently used ones. I've got around a dozen. The hard part will be finding boxes to wrap them all.

But it'll be worth it! The residents loved it! The houses we didn't have toys for we went to visit anyway just to say Ho Ho HO!  I'm not sure who they loved more, Santa or Emilie.

Santa and his helper. I've found her an elf costume for next year.

Santa and "his dad".

Santa and "his mom".

Have a Blessed Day.

Lisa