The Christmas Place Returns to In-Person Shopping Format

Thursday, 10 November 2022 05:46

By Marcie Culbert

Over 50 families in need have already registered for Operation Sharing's The Christmas Place, which returns to an in-person shopping format this year.

OXFORD COUNTY - Operation Sharing's The Christmas Place will return to an in-person shopping format this year.

Registered families will be able to look through the donated toys at College Ave Church in Woodstock on December 13th, 14th, and 15th and purchase gifts for their kids for a low price.

Coordinator Kathy Gardiner says the program started over 37 years ago and it's all about providing families in need with a hand up, instead of a hand out.

"They were able to maintain their dignity and their sense of choice. Nobody was just handing them a gift assuming it would be good for their 8-year-old girl or their 9-year-old boy. It offered a lot of opportunities and a lot of insight that we still try to do in our program."

All of the toys will cost between $1 and $3 this year and there is a $4 spending limit for each child.

Registration for the program opened in October and Gardiner says they have received over 50 applications from families since then. Gardiner says they will continue to accept the applications until December 7th.

"They can get a registration form at any service agency, social agency, or church in Oxford County. They can either e-mail it to me, or Christmas Place, and the email address is on the registration form."

That e-mail address is thechristmasplace1@gmail.com. The forms can also be dropped off at College Ave Church in Woodstock.

Once the registration deadline closes, all of the registered families will be divided into three groups and assigned a designated shopping day. This will help limit the number of people shopping all at once. With this being the first in-person Christmas Place since the COVID-19 pandemic began, Gardiner says they would like to proceed with caution. This means there will also be no shopping day for siblings this year. Gardiner says around 500 people would pack the church for the sibling shopping day.

Toy donations are now being accepted for the program and they need gifts for kids and youth ranging between newborn and 18-years-old. Gardiner says College Ave Church will be open daily from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. from November 30th to December 12th in order to accept donations from the community.

There will also be a toy drive for The Christmas Place on December 7th. A school bus will be driving around to local businesses in order to pick up toy donations. Businesses interested in participating in the toy drive can reach out to The Christmas Place for more details.

Kathy Gardiner stopped by the Heart FM studio to chat with Dan and Marcie about The Christmas Place on Wednesday November 9th and you can listen to the full interview below.