You are cordially invited to attend the Christmas Cottage Open House Wednesday, November 30. Come visit and see how special the Christmas Cottage experience is. The “Charlie Brown Christmas” theme is sure to delight young and old alike. Park Place Lexus is sponsoring the Open House, so there will be plenty of goodies to go around.
GRACE clients are so fortunate to have the good will, volunteers and toys—all the amazing toys—from our community to open a Christmas Cottage each holiday season. Client parents are thrilled and grateful for the chance to “shop” for their children’s gifts and then watch the excitement on their little faces Christmas morning.
When someone comes to GRACE for help, our caseworkers conduct a thorough assessment of their needs. For some in dire need, food, shelter, clothing and medical care are provided to the full extent. For others, assistance is provided to the extent needed. All clients benefit and our mission philosophy of “self-sufficiency” is always kept in mind.
For the Christmas Cottage, client parents are given a voucher equivalent to the needs of their family. With voucher in hand, parents and Christmas Cottage volunteers shop table-after-table of toys, electronics, clothing, books and games.
Their selections are then packaged in a black plastic bag (to prevent snooping) along with wrapping paper, ribbons, bows and cards. The parents can then select a “family gift” for the home, usually a small kitchen appliance.
In this way the folks at Christmas Cottage feel like our client parents are getting the true “Christmas Cottage Experience” of selecting toys and gifts that their children want and need, wrapping the gifts and watching their excited young ones tear off the paper and discover “what Santa brought.”
The Children’s Open House (for families and youth groups) is from 4:00– 5:30 PM. Sweets and refreshments will be provided. The Open House begins at 5:30 PM with special wines and hors d’oeuvres.
A Park Place “Santa’s Sleigh” will be in the Christmas Cottage, so please bring a new, unwrapped toy to add to the Christmas Cottage wares. The GRACE Christmas Cottage is at 815 South Main Street in Grapevine, at the corner of Dallas and Main Street. If you have any questions, please contact 817-305-4672.
