As a longtime Santa Claus at a suburban Chicago mall, Rod Riemersma used to jokingly tell children they would get socks for Christmas if they were naughty.
This year, he stopped telling the joke. Too many children were asking for socks. "They've probably heard their parents say, 'Geez, I wish I had some money to get them clothes,' " says Mr. Riemersma, 56 years old.
-- Wall St. Journal
Today I bought socks. Little socks. Two packages of 10 little socks for kids ages 5 to 9. And tomorrow I'm going to bring them to my friend who owns a children's clothing resale shop and tell her "If anybody seems like maybe they need some socks, just hand them a package of these."
Makes perfect sense about the socks. You can get childrens clothes at any garage sale for a dime or quarter per article. Just bale it into a bag with a pitchfork and walk off with a ton of clothes for three bucks. But underwear? Hard to get at thrift stores or re-sale shops.
And now kids are asking for underwear by name. Just ask a Mall Santa. Seems they're hearing please for the necessities for Christmas this year.
It's a sign of the times.
Here's what Mall Santas are hearing across America...
That's what Jim Lewis did. A Santa at a Bass Pro Shop outdoor-goods store in Denver, he blanched when a blond girl in a red plaid dress recently asked for a pair of eyeglasses so she could see the classroom board. He recovered in time to motion over one of his elves, who told the girl's mother about the local Lions Club, which helps provide needy children with prescription glasses.
Sometimes even the best training can't keep Santa from being caught off guard. Mike Smith, who works as Santa at the Polaris Fashion Place in Columbus, Ohio, says a 5-year-old girl wearing a Dora the Explorer sweat shirt last month hopped in his lap and asked, "Can you turn my daddy into an elf?" "Why?" he asked.
"Because my daddy's out of work, and we're about to lose our house," she said.
The girl's mother, standing by her little brother's stroller, burst into tears.
One 7-year-old boy recently asked for shoes. "Do you want Air Jordans?" Mr. Crais asked.
The boy responded, "No, school shoes. My shoes have holes in them."
Mr. Crais, a 67-year-old retired commercial artist, called over his photographer, who told the boy's mother about local charities.
"When we had the housing crunch, we saw, 'Please help us stay in our house,' " Mr. Brown says of the letters, which are forwarded to a nonprofit that works with charities in the children's hometowns. "This year, it's more job-related."
Welcome to the New Normal.
Listen.
I know it's hard out there.
I know a lot of you have given and given and given this year. Time and energy and money.
I know. I'm right there too. Christmas is lean this year. Some books. Plastic sled. A small box of Legos. Crayons. Eating potatoes constantly because the store had a FANTASTIC sale on them, $1.18 for TEN POUNDS of potatoes! We got several bags. The rear wheels on the car have worn through to the wire, and we're scraping up the $150 to get new tires.
We're all squeezed.
But you know what? My kids have socks, dammit. And a home. We've got the necessities.
And it's just an extra $3 for some socks or underwear or a toothbrush or soap or shampoo for some kids who don't have any. And there are kids who don't have those things. We have left the era of plenty. Many have left the era of "enough". These items are needed and generally not available at thrift stores at prices those in poverty can afford. Get those items and bring them to Goodwill (some, not all, Goodwill stores carry brand "seconds" of underwear and toiletries) or the Salvation Army. Or give them to a church. Or a school. Or drop them on the doorstep of somebody you know needs them. Your choice.
Or next time you're at the store, get a small toy. Nothing extravagant, and put it in a Toys for Tots drop box. Ordonate.
Two more days until Christmas, folks. I intend to do what I can to make children and their parents know we've got their backs.
From slatsg
It's tough here in Michigan (9+ / 0-)
At our school we have an annual drive to collect clothing, and give it out in early December. Some folks are embarassed, some are not. A whole lot of kids in need of basics.Many of our teachers buy items for the kids. Given the economy, many districts will be asking teachers for a pay cut. I don't see a real turn around any time soon. It's as bad as I've seen it in 39 years in education.
Of course, the economic hardships have created more dysfunction in many families. A surprising number of our Letters to Santa asked for better environments at home ... nothing else ... no gifts ... they just want to have a happy home.
Shanikka said
But don't forget the teens! Donations for teenagers are often the last to come in because they admittedly are hardest to buy for and folks are sometimes more "heart string tugged" by the babies -