Bringing the magic and wonder of Christmas to everyone
Christmas traditions are meaningful because they create moments of connection, wonder, and belonging. But every family, every child, and every community has a different story. Sometimes the traditional ways of celebrating Christmas are not the right fit — and sometimes a different approach can create a moment that means everything.
Our work is rooted in the belief that every child is precious, deserves kindness, and should experience the joy and wonder of Christmas. For us, that calling comes from our faith and our belief that God’s love extends to every child and every family.
Christmas does not look the same for every family, and the way we share the wonder of the season should not have to look the same either. Sometimes a child cannot participate in a traditional Santa experience. Sometimes a family needs a different approach. Sometimes a caregiver or community sees a need and wonders how to create a meaningful moment.
Of course, otherwise ordinary circumstances sometimes need special care as well. When children carry worries about the "naughty list," fear visiting Santa, or simply need reassurance that they are seen and valued, Mistletoe Workshop wants to replace those narratives with love, encouragement and a sense of belonging.
This page describes some of our ideas, but there may be many other options we can come up with. Please reach out to us, if you want to bring Christmas to a child or community you have in mind.
Technology has given us many alternatives when it comes to sharing Christmas. Recent years reminded us that Christmas connection does not depend on one specific place or format. Virtual visits, audio messages, school assemblies, parade appearances, and other special events extend the Christmas spirit beyond traditional settings.
Of course, that also created an opportunity to see our work differently - to see that home visits and taking photos are a small set of the ways we can love children and families. Video visits, audio visits, school assemblies, parade floats or other special events extend the Christmas spirit beyond traditional settings. Santa might visit a school, hospital, church, community event, or another place where people gather to celebrate.
Special events and special circumstances deserve special planning. Meaningful connections begin with knowing the person behind the visit. For private residences, care communities, or special situations, we love learning names, personalities, interests, and stories that help us create a genuine moment.
If a child will spend Christmas in the hospital, we may need to coordinate not only with their family but with hospital staff prior to a visit, and the hospital may have special requirements for us that we need to address before we can visit.
When a child needs reassurance about the naughty-or-nice list, it helps us to know more about the child, their siblings, how they are doing in school, or anything else a parent wants us to know to make our message both direct and reassuring.
Community means people caring for people.
When our sense of community includes loving as many people as possible and sharing the joy of Christmas, our hope is to serve our community by sharing the joy of Christmas with people who may otherwise be overlooked, without carving out or excluding anyone.
To that end, we want to know when there are underserved children and we are open to hearing new ideas about how we might reach them.
We would love to hear what you are imagining. Every situation is different, and we invite you to start a conversation with us.
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