Taking part in the 5th Annual Wrapping Tweet Up for Santas Anonymous.
Last Friday, I went to the 5th Annual Santas Anonymous Wrapping Tweetup! I brought along Mike, our friends Logan and Brandy, and Mike’s sister Amanda. (Technically 3/5 of us tweet so that’s fair!) This is my third year taking part in the wrapping tweetup and I do thank Brittney LeBlanc (@britl) for organizing because it is one of the few (only??) charitable acts I actually do consistently.
Time to wrap!
We were fashionably late – but not so late that all the wrapping tables were filled up (like they were last year). So we claimed a few tables (we all need a lot of space to wrap apparently) and got on with it!
Mike is an excellent wrapper!!
Our wrapping job meant we had to sift through the warehouse’s toy bins and select ‘primary’ and ‘secondary’ toys for boys and girls of specific age groups. Friday night’s focus was on infant boys and 11-year-old girls and I can tell you – it was very difficult finding appropriate toys for infant boys & 11-year-old girls!!
Mike looks on as I have to re-wrap gifts since I did so poorly the first time.
After we choose the toys, we rip out wrapping paper (or go for the gift bag for items that are just too big or awkward to wrap) and we do our best to put it all together. I say do our best because I am awful at wrapping so it’s always quite a challenge. Mike and the rest of the gang were all better than I was.
Logan, Brandy & Amanda at Santas Anonymous Wrapping Tweetup!
We wrapped for three hours! Mike’s sister Amanda LOVED it. I also love it (except that I have bad wrapping abilities). The rest of our group think it’s okay – it’s not the most exciting work and it’s quite a daunting task – so many toys need to be sorted and wrapped and bagged and delivered. But I always think about the joy the recipients will feel when they open up the presents they’ve wrapped and it’s a great feeling!! Spread the Christmas cheer!! Help out the city’s less fortunate.
Toys at the Santas Anonymous warehouse.
This year Christmas lies on a Tuesday so the Santas Anonymous delivery date is Dec. 15 which is earlier than usual. There’s still lots you can do to help. You can find more information about Santas Anonymous and how you can volunteer/donate by clicking here.
The Twitter group helping wrap and sort gifts at Santas Anonymous!
It’s also always nice to put a real-life face to some of the people you tweet online (and seeing old familiar faces too).
My recaps from last year’s wrapping tweetup can be found here and click here for the year before that. :)
There’s lots of non-profits that need help during this time. I am going to see if I can volunteer for anything else before Christmas rolls around!
Do you donate your time or money (or toys) to charities during the holidays? Which ones??
Linda
