I am looking for help in Hanover, Pennsylvania, for my 2 young boys, their 19 year old sister and my soon to be 1 year old grandson. My husband and I split, he is having trouble with having a good Christmas for the kids. I am trying my best to help him with everything so I thought I would try this. My boys, their sister, and the baby all live with him in Hanover PA. He finally got a stable job after bouncing back and forth via temp agencies and unemployment due to the economy.
We always donated in the past to different places to help families so now I am hoping we can get help so the kids have a good holiday. Like I stated the kids live with him and I try my best, but I can't give them everything they need. Please help. Thank you so much!
By Jenn
Add your voice! Click below to answer. ThriftyFun is powered by your wisdom!
Number one, most places that do Christmas help have passed the deadline or are close to it. Also most of them don't provide gifts for kids past 12 years of age. Call 211, it is HELPLINE!, a national clearing house that keeps a list of different organizations that provide different types of help for people. There is also the Salvation Army. We all know for a year that Christmas comes every year and should plan ahead.
I start my shopping in January and have been done for at least a month. If I didn't I wouldn't be able to give my adult kids and four adult grandkids anything. I live off $600 a month retirement social security. Even when I was married we only gave our kids one gift each. We weren't wealthy but we were comfortable. We knew that the kids would also be getting a gift from each set of grandparents and from aunts and uncles.
You must have ancestors and siblings that will be doing this too. The 19 year old is old enough to know the situation, and the baby won't really know whether or not he/she gets a present. If the other kids are older than five they should also have some understanding of the situation and if they are younger than five, they would be satisfied with a color book and crayons. My kids never had any of the toys advertised on TV and kids don't need expensive things to be happy. Speak to the pastor of your church, sometimes a pastor will have a special offering for family in the church that has fallen on hard times.
Joan B.
You should spend less time telling someone how "they should have known Christmas was coming" and more time being empathetic and concerned. A simple. "I hope you find your way this season and my thoughts are with you" would help a lot more than telling someone how well you did it and how badly they are doing it.
I know that here in Texas that the police dept. has a program called Blue Santa. They will take the toys that were donated straight to your door and kids not only get gifts but also a visit from Santa. If they receive donations of the sort, they will also donate things like towels, robes, slippers and such to adults. Contact your local police dept. to see if they have a program like this. I pray they do and that you all can have a wonderful Christmas.
Add your voice! Click below to answer. ThriftyFun is powered by your wisdom!
