Page 43 - Voices-2021-12

St. Nick’s Helpers and the Christmas Chicken

Jane Marshall PM1

Brown Christmas limb we’d found for a tree. blimp! This first year we had chosen a family
Even though it was completely generous of with 13 children who lived on a very meager
her, it was overwhelming and way over the top. income.

Even after years of me asking her to “please Now, to set the stage, I had a daughter,
tone it down” my requests fell on deaf ears. RuthAnne who was 5 years old. In June of
And then it became a bigger challenge for her that year, she had received in the mail a fully
to be even more excessive! The noisier, frillier, fringed red satin flapper costume dress from

bigger, glittery gift the better. her cousin. As soon as she put that dress on, it
It really felt like Christmas gift warfare!! was her daily uniform. In fact I had a difficult
After a couple of years, I devised a plan to time getting it off of her at bedtime.
manage this excess. We could choose a gift or Complete with cowboy boots or Wellies,

two to keep then share our excess presents with depending on the weather,
those in need. I proposed this to my children RuthAnne, wore that silky
and surprisingly, they were delighted with the shimmery dress everywhere
opportunity! for over a year! The night we

From the very start of enjoying Christmas as became St Nick’s helpers was
a family, we had chosen to celebrate St. Nicholas no exception.
Day on December 6th. Then the remainder of We put on warm coats
the Christmas season was left for us to get busy and headed out with our

and make homemade gifts for one another and cards, cookies, and gifts,
celebrate the true meaning of Christmas, the excited to see a reaction
birth of the Christ child. at the front door. We made
We knew several families who had lots of the 10-mile drive and

Christmas needs! We would be St Nicholas’ pulled up to their farm.
helpers. We made cards and cookies and In the snowy moonlit
unwrapped and rewrapped gifts. Each child night we could see lots of
chose a few gifts from their pile to keep and the old broken down rusty cars

excess to rewrap for friends in need. There were in front of the house. In fact
American Girl Dolls, frilly dresses, books that it was hard to see the front
played music, remote controlled cars, trucks, door. I stepped out of the
Hot Wheels, and once, even a remote-controlled van to assist each child out

VOICES! | DECEMBER 2021 43