Note to potential Santas

[melissajm]

Toys R Us is matching donations to Toys For Tots done at its stores. If anyone was thinking of doing it, it's a way to donate twice as many toys.

My husband (boyfriend at the time) got me started on the annual T4T donation. He was working at Woolworth's, and with the help of a sale and his employee discount, he bought a brand new kid's bike. He goes up to the Marine on duty with this herfty box in his arms and asks "Can you arrange things so that this will fit in the barrel?"

Marine, eyebrow raised: "What is it?"

Husband-to-be: "It's a bike."

That was the only time I've ever seen a Marine cry. It was really something. Give it a try.

Comments

[yourbob.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the heads up. And the wonderful story!!!

[melissajm.livejournal.com]

You're welcome.
My husband IS Santa Claus. He's done the mall job-but what's really uncanny is that kids have called him Santa in the summertime, though he doesn't look like Santa at all.

They know. ;)

[shaolingrrl.livejournal.com]

Quite a hubby you got there. :-)

[melissajm.livejournal.com]

Yep. ;)

[wishwords.livejournal.com]

That is so very cool. Often they just get kind of crappy toys. The Marines take T4T very seriously. It offsets the rest of their job.

I'm in the SCA and I always try to attend the T4T tournament. The Marine guards think we are weird, but cool.

[melissajm.livejournal.com]

A T4T tournament? How does that work? Admission is a toy?

We try to get nice toys, if not necessarily the "hot" ones. We have a "no batteries required" rule, so the parents won't have to spend money to make the toys work. We get things like stuffed animals, board games, blocks, craft supplies...

[wishwords.livejournal.com]

Are you familiar with the SCA - Society for Creative Anachronism? We are a bunch of medieval reenactors. Every Nov/Dec the various Kingdoms and Baronies hold Toys for Tots tournaments. If you want to participate in the tournament as either a fighter or an artisan you must pay the admission fee of a toy. You sign up at the table for whichever competition you are competing in, show them your toy and then go put it in the box. People who aren't competing are free to donate toys as well. It's pretty neat.

[melissajm.livejournal.com]

I've never been in it, but I know about it.

That'a a wonderful idea!