The Giving Trees - 1. Chapter 1 - The Giving Trees

Even though it’s been quite a few years since it happened, there’s one Christmas that still haunts my memories. It was back in 2008, during the Great Recession, and I remember it because that was the year my brother and I didn’t get any presents.

We knew things were getting bad when our mother was laid off from her job and there was only our dad’s income from his job that could be used to cover all of the expenses. He wasn’t making as much as he used to either, because the company he worked for had decided that no one would be allowed to work overtime any longer. Our dad told us that he used to make a lot more money when he was able to work overtime, and sometimes he would work as many as 20 hours of overtime in a week. Since overtime was paid at one and a half times his normal hourly wage, this meant it nearly doubled his take home pay.

Due to these changes in our parents’ circumstances, my brother and I became aware of some dramatic changes in our lives long before Christmas. The first thing we noticed was that we were now eating a bunch of different things for supper. Our mom started making a lot of new dishes that used hot dogs, such as Chili Cheese Dog Pizza, Franks and Beans, and a Cheesy Hot Dog Casserole. We were eating a lot of ground beef as well, such as in Manwich sandwiches, BBQ Meatloaf, and something our mom called Hamburg Parmesan.

And those weren’t the only changes we observed. When we started school that year, we didn’t go to the usual stores to buy our school clothes and supplies. Instead, our mom took us to the thrift store to shop for school clothes and we bought our school supplies at the dollar store. And that wasn’t all! At Halloween our parents told us that we weren’t going to buy costumes! Instead, our mom helped us make costumes out of things we already had at home. And our dad only gave the trick-or-treaters that came to our house one small bag of M&Ms.

Thanksgiving was also different that year, because we had a whole roasted chicken instead of a turkey for the big meal, and for dessert our mom served us homemade spice cookies instead of pumpkin pie. And shortly after Thanksgiving, our dad warned us about the next change we’d be experiencing.

“Jeff and Brian, unfortunately your mother and I have some bad news for you boys. We won’t be putting up any Christmas lights outside this year, and we won’t be buying a tree to decorate either. I’m afraid there isn’t enough money in our budget to buy any presents either.”

“Why not?” I screamed.

“Since your mother lost her job and I don’t get any overtime pay, there just isn’t any extra money. My paycheck is barely enough to pay the mortgage and utilities and still have enough left over to buy food for us to eat. We will try to do our best, but we might not be able to scrape together any money to buy presents.”

“Isn’t there some way to get the money so we can have a nice Christmas?” I pleaded, since Brian and I were in tears by this point.

“I’m afraid not. This isn’t something we could’ve planned for, and we’ve done everything possible to find deals on the things we have purchased. If you haven’t noticed, your mom spends a lot of time cutting out coupons and going to different grocery stores to get the best prices on the things she buys. She does this so we can still afford to have cable and internet for you boys to use. You might just have to settle with those things as your Christmas present this year.”

“And I’m sure you’ve also noticed that I’ve had to skimp on meals,” our mom added, “and I’ve been making more dishes that use hot dogs and ground beef, rather than buying the more expensive cuts of meat. I’ve also been purchasing the less expensive brands of other things as well, but pinching pennies just doesn’t seem to be enough!”

“And even though we’ve considered other possibilities,” our dad added, “we can’t even afford to purchase the materials that would be required to make gifts for each other either. That is unless you’d be ok with skipping meals from time to time.”

“This sucks,” Brian whined.

“We know,” our dad commiserated, “but your mother and I can’t think of anything we can do differently to save more money. We’ve even thought about selling the house and moving into an apartment, but there just aren’t any people buying houses right now.”

“But we still have plenty of paper,” our mom offered, “since your father bought a box of paper for the printer before all of this started. We can use some of that to make Christmas cards for each other.”

“And we promise to make this up to you when things get better,” our dad quickly added. “Hopefully, we’ll be able to give you even more presents than usual next Christmas or the Christmas after that.”

Brian and I eventually agreed to give our parents and each other handmade Christmas cards this year, and in them we would express our love, as well as good wishes through out the holiday and New Year.

On Christmas Eve, our parents had us gather around the TV so we could all watch an older version of The Christmas Carol. I think we all found ourselves identifying with the Cratchit family, but in our case, Scrooge was the economy, and to some extent our parents’ employers, so we tried to make the best of a bad situation.

On Christmas morning we exchanged our homemade Christmas cards, but our mom had another surprise for us. She had gone around the house and dug out items that we hadn’t either used or played with lately. There were games and other items that we’d been ignoring and she wrapped them up in Christmas paper that had been left over from past Christmases and gave them to us again. Mom and Dad even did the same with items they hadn’t used recently and wrapped them up and gave them to each other as well. Even though this was merely a small gesture of Yuletide spirit, it only helped to reinforce the fact that Brian and I missed getting anything new this year.

After we opened our presents, we watched a few Christmas movies that were being shown on TV. We began with A Christmas Story and then we watched the 1947 version of Miracle on 34^th Street, and then after we ate, we watched Home Alone.

Our Christmas meal consisted of another whole roasted chicken, just like what we had at Thanksgiving. And during the meal we joked that the chicken we were having was similar to the small goose that the Cratchit family had on Christmas Day, which gave us another tie to them. We also had homemade mashed potatoes, whole kernel corn, and a small salad to go with it.

There were no pies for dessert either, or even a small figgy pudding like the Cratchits had. Our mom would usually bake a pumpkin and an apple pie, but this year she only made a few Christmas cookies instead. It wasn’t the greatest Christmas we’d ever had, and even though Brian and I tried to make the best of it, we couldn’t stop dwelling on the fact of how disappointed we were that we didn’t get anything new.

Brian and I are older now, but memories of that Christmas are etched deeply into our psyches. Although neither of us has a family of our own, that experience bolstered our determination to make sure that no other child has to go through a Christmas like that this year. It’s why I came up with the idea for ‘The Giving Trees’, but I will have to convince others that this idea is worthwhile before I can make it a reality. I decided to start this process at the September City Council Meeting that I was attending.

“My name is Jeff Hart and I’d like to make a proposal about starting a new program for Christmas this year. We’re all well aware of the fact that the city decorates an official Christmas tree in front of City Hall every year, but this year I’d like to add a second, smaller tree in the lobby. This tree, however, won’t have lights and ornaments on it, but instead will have something more personal in nature.”

“You mean you want to erect a tree without lights and ornaments in the lobby?” a female council member asked. “Isn’t that the opposite of why we have Christmas trees in the first place?” There was some murmuring in the crowd as they agreed with her statement.

“It may be, but this tree will have something of a more personal nature hanging from its boughs instead of ornaments,” I responded.

“And what sort of personal items do you plan on hanging from this tree?” another man challenged. “I hope you aren’t expecting each of us to donate an article of our undergarments for that purpose.” This comment elicited laughter from the others in the room.

“No, nothing like that, but it won’t be totally bare either. I intend on asking a group of social workers, teachers, and religious leaders to fill out tags with information about children from low-income families who might not get anything for Christmas this year. Those tags will be hanging on the tree where others, who are financially better off, may take one or more of the tags so they can buy presents for those children.”

“You can’t give out that kind of information about the children to others,” another council member objected.

“The only personal information on the tags will be the child’s first name, followed by the first letter of their surname, age, and sex, along with the sponsor’s information and some gift giving ideas. The gifts will have to be dropped off at a collection area by December 20^th, and each present must have the sponsor’s information attached to it. This is very important so we can give those gifts to the sponsor by December 22^nd. The sponsor will then be responsible for getting the presents to the child’s home prior to the evening of December 24^th so the child can receive them on Christmas morning.”

“What sort of gift giving ideas do you plan on having on these tags?” another council person asked. “Will it be enough information so the person selecting the tag can buy appropriate gifts for the child?”

“The tags will open like a book, and on the inside, there will be a list of things that the child is interested in, such as different sports, musical interests, or different school subjects. It will also include the various clothing and shoe sizes so the person who selects the tag will have a general idea about what types of items they might purchase. And the person can always go online to find lists of appropriate gifts for a child in that age group.”

“And who’s going to supply all of this information?”

“The sponsors will when they fill out the tag. It will be up to them to contact the family to get the appropriate information if they wish to insure the child will receive something for Christmas.”

“So, the sponsor who fills out the tag will also have to deliver the presents as well?”

“Yes, but I doubt they’ll have a problem with doing this, especially if they’re concerned enough to fill out the tag in the first place. It would seem they’re also interested enough to make sure the child receives the present or presents on Christmas Day, so I think they’ll be willing to make sure the presents get there as well.”

“And how will the people who take the tags know when they’ll have to be returned by and where to take them?”

“There will be notices beside the tree stating that they can take up to December 20^th before dropping off the gifts, if they wish to participate. It will also state that the presents must be wrapped and the top half of the tag, or a copy of it, must be attached to each present. And it will also list the places that have agreed to be drop off locations for this event.”

“So, the children will get the gifts with the sponsor’s tags on them?”

“No! After they are dropped off at the collection center, those tags will eventually be replaced by another tag that will have the child’s name in the TO section and be given FROM Santa. This is to ensure the process is completely anonymous.”

“And where will the drop off locations be located?”

“There will be several collection sites located across the city. I’ve already run this idea by the pastors of several churches, the director of Social Services, and the Superintendent of schools, along with a group of principals. The churches and Social Services have offered to act as collection points, so it should make the process fairly easy for those who wish to participate.”

“I hope you are planning on making certain that the sponsors know what they’re getting into when they suggest a child for this program.”

“I will, and the best thing about the tree is that anyone can take one or more of the tags so they can buy a present or presents for each child.”

“Are you certain there will be enough traffic through the lobby of City Hall so people will select all of the tags that are hanging there?”

“I plan on putting a similar tree at the mall and that one will have even more tags on it, but they won’t be duplicates.”

“And what happens if a tag doesn’t get selected or returned?”

“I’ll be keeping a spreadsheet listing the information on each of tags, and as soon as I know a tag and a present are returned, I’ll note it on the spreadsheet. Since some of the presents will be returned even earlier than the December 20^th deadline, I’ll be able to collect this information by the 20^th. I’ll then be able to identify the tags that have not been returned. It will also give me two days to buy gifts for those individuals whose tag either hadn’t been selected or wasn’t returned.”

“That could get expensive for you.”

“I know, but my brother has agreed to share this expense with me, since we want to make certain that each child gets something for Christmas.”

“Possibly we can collect donations to help defray that expense, so it doesn’t all fall on you,” the chairperson of the council stated.

“That would be greatly appreciated, and then I’ll use that money when I go shopping for those children. If there is any money left over, I’ll split it up and give half to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and the other half to the Shriners Hospital for Children.”

I had a great deal to do now, but fortunately my brother had offered to assist me. He’s just as determined as I am to make certain this event goes off without any glitches. First of all, we’ll have to collaborate and design the tags, and then we’ll have them printed to make certain there are plenty of copies to go around. And then we’ll have to get them to the people I have contacted to assist us by recommending a child and filling out the tag.

Once that process is completed, we’ll contact each of the churches that have agreed to participate as a drop off site and the principals who have agreed to encourage their teachers to participate. We’ll also have to contact the director of Social Services so she can get the social workers involved. We’ll then ask each of them to submit the appropriate information for any children they think would benefit from this program by the first week of November.

“Why so early?” a council member asked.

“It’s to give me time to transfer the information to my spreadsheet so I’ll be able to ensure that no child has been recommended by two or more people. If there are duplicate tags submitted, then I’ll contact those submitting that child’s name to make certain there aren’t two children with similar information. If it’s turns out to be a duplicate, then I’ll leave it assigned to the person with the smallest list.”

“Are you going to do this all by yourself?”

“No, as I’ve said previously, my brother is going to assist me and I’ve received several offers of help from individuals associated with the groups that I’m planning to get involved. I will use those volunteers to hang the tags on the trees before Thanksgiving, and then that should allow the individuals selecting a tag plenty of time to go shopping. On December 20^th, my brother and I will collect any tags that haven’t been selected so we can buy gifts for the individuals listed on those tags. We’ll also buy gifts for any of those whose tags had not been returned.”

“What are you going to do if there are two children from the same family and the person selecting one of their tags buys a different number of presents than the other person bought for the other child?”

“I’ll ask the sponsors to let me know if they’re recommending siblings. Then, if that happens, it may require that we temporarily open those gifts to see what they contain so we can make sure both siblings are treated as equally as possible.”

“And will the sponsors be responsible for paying for any additional gifts required?”

“No, we’ll be the ones checking on it and we will use whatever money is needed from the donations we’ve received.”

After I made my presentation and answered all of the ensuing questions, the city council voted on my proposal. I was holding my breath as the processes started, but I soon discovered this wasn’t necessary. By unanimous approval, the council passed a resolution that would allow me to set up a Christmas tree in the lobby with the tags hanging from it. The council also passed a resolution to supply the money necessary to decorate the tree with lights and have an angel on top, to make it appear more appealing.

The mall gave me permission to do this there as well and designated a location where I could place the tree, so there was a lot of work to do in order to pull this off. First, I had a volunteer who agreed to supply two trees of appropriate size, but they would be in large pots filled with dirt, because we wanted this to be environmentally friendly. The trees would then be placed at each location, and he also agreed to make sure they were watered.

I also had to contact the groups that were going to suggest names of children for this event, and then I’ll contact those volunteering to help to decorate the two trees with lights, an angel, and the tags. Even though I’d originally planned on being involved with decorating the trees, I later bowed out so I could spend the time working on the spreadsheet instead. I had to load all of the information on my computer, along with noting the tree the tag was hung on.

We made our first target date of having this done by Thanksgiving, but there was more left to do. It was a very involved process, but I won’t bore you by going into details about what we were doing. All I’ll say is that the sponsor’s were able to pick up the presents for the children they recommended by December 22^nd so they could deliver them to the appropriate families.

Fortunately, only a handful of tags had remained on the two trees by our cutoff date, and after I collected those tags. I noticed an odd coincidence. The tags were all for some of the older children that had been recommended for this project. Another thing that I noticed was that all of the tags that had been selected were returned with one or more presents.

Brian offered to go with me when I went to select the items for these children, and then he surprised me when he suggested that he and I should split the cost of buying these presents. He pointed out that this way we could use all of the donations to split between St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and the Shriners Hospital for Children. I thought this was very generous of him and agreed with his proposal.

All of the presents were picked up and delivered on time, and Brian and I hoped that the children receiving the presents were having a very merry Christmas. Now, I merely wanted to hear the feedback that the sponsors had received about what we had done. That didn’t happen until a couple of days after Christmas when we heard what one of the pastors had reported, and I’ll try to quote him precisely.

“Ginny came up to me after church on Sunday and I could tell she had something on her mind. When I asked what she wanted, this is what she told me.”

“God answered my prayers this year.”

“What do you mean? How did God answer your prayers?”

“I got presents from Santa this year, but I know they weren’t from Santa. They were gifts sent by God.”

“God may have guided the person who provided the gifts for you, but they merely wanted you to have a nice Christmas.”

“And I did, because God had them do it.”

A social worker had a scheduled meeting with one of the families after Christmas and she asked the two children if they had a nice Christmas.

“Yeah, Santa found where we were livin’ this year and brought us presents,” the six-year-old daughter replied.

“And I got some really nice clothes and some toys to play with,” her younger brother added.”

“Well, that was really nice of Santa,” the social worker replied.

“Yeah, cuz we know mommy and daddy didn’t have nuf money to buy nuffin for us,” the girl replied.

“They didn’t have nuf money last year and Santa didn’t bring us nuffin neiffer,” the little brother added.

“Then I’m glad Santa found you this year.”

One other report comes to mind, and it was from a third-grade teacher after school had started again.

“I noticed Daniel was wearing really nice clothes the first day back and he was beaming as he sat at his desk. I decided to comment on what he was wearing as the kids were heading to lunch: That’s a really nice outfit you have on, Daniel.”

“Yeah, Santa gave it to me for Christmas. He gave me other clothes too and some other stuff.”

“What kind of stuff?”

“He gave me some toys, and my brothers and sister got stuff from Santa too.”

“Well, that was really nice of Santa.”

“Yeah, it was our best Christmas ever.”

After hearing these and other comments I knew I was going to do this every year from now on. It seems to have had the effect that Brian and I wanted, and we were both proud to have been a part of it. I hope you all have a Merry Christmas as well.