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ALL SAINTS CATHOLIC SCHOOL Christmas Corner OFFERS STUDENTS THE JOY OF GIVING
Older folks may recall the Sears and Roebuck “Christmas Wish Book” catalog that was filled with everything a child could possibly want for Christmas. It was an exciting array of items that certainly lent itself to making wish lists for Santa Claus.
However, isn’t there more joy to be found in giving? Our students at All Saints Catholic School have the opportunity to experience the joy of giving to others, thanks to the longstanding tradition of the Christmas Corner.
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The Christmas Corner is a gift shop set up on a December Thursday and Friday in Hoffmann Hall at St. John Church. All Saints students, from 4K up to eighth grade can shop for gifts for family and friends, with everything priced for child-sized wallets.
The Christmas Corner has been an annual event at All Saints dating back to 1998, but Shelli Hagerty believes its history goes back to when the school was located at St. Mary’s Parish.
Shelli, whose three sons attended All Saints Catholic School, truly believes in the Christmas Corner’s purpose — she continues to coordinate the event even though her sons are now in high school.
“I told Paul Galuska, school administrator, that I enjoy it so much, I’d like to continue coordinating it if I could,” Shelli says.
When the students enter the Christmas Corner, they can choose from gifts priced as low as 50 cents up to $2 or $3.
“There are gifts of all kinds,” Shelli says. “We have really generous families from the school who donate the gifts. One family donates fishing lures from their business, others donate bird feed and suet cakes, and we get a ton of toys, coloring books, and decorative items, and sometimes we have golf balls left from our golf outing. There are shirts and clothing items, scarves, and nail polish. One mother and grandmother make glass jewelry, and they donate some of their items. All these are worth well over the $3 a student might pay for the item.
“These are things a student may buy for a sibling or parent,” she adds. “We have a pet table because some kids like to buy something for their pets.”
Once the students have made their choices, parent and parish volunteers wrap the gifts.
“There is a lot of excitement when they come into the Christmas Corner, and I love to see what they pick out,” Shelli says. “Others have it in their heads what someone would like. What we are trying to do is to teach the kids about thinking about others. We tell them, ‘Today you are here to pick out gifts for your family.’ Hopefully, we’re teaching them to think about others, and it isn’t always for ourselves.”
Sometimes the youngsters are so excited about their purchases that they insist the recipients open them immediately — and not wait for Christmas!
