Today is the day most of us had, or have the chance, to open up presents under the tree courtesy of our loved ones and Santa Claus himself.
That included residents of AVENS as the community came through once again to make sure those who live there enjoy some of the Christmas cheer.
The annual Tree of Giving saw dozens of seniors SA国际影视传媒� 57, to be exact SA国际影视传媒� receive gifts thanks to the generosity of businesses, school classrooms and the public and it was another popular initiative this year, according to Daryl Dolynny, AVENS' chief executive officer.
How popular? If you waited to see what was left, you probably missed it.
"We usually sell out of the wishes quickly," said Dolynny. "We launched this year's campaign around mid-November and every single one was gone in about four hours. Every one was taken."
Here's how it works: residents of AVENS place their Christmas wishes on a tree and each one is taken to be fulfilled. The wishes are printed in the form of a postcard to Santa and are hung on the tree.
Dolynny said the wishes aren't anything fancy.
"All of our residents ask for easy things, nothing extravagant," he said.
The gifts started coming in and Dolynny said he was noticing a pattern as they did.
"A lot of people were bringing in extras, such as a box of chocolates or some candy - something small, but above what they had to," he said.
Other things included, Dolynny added, were photos of the family or classroom or group that took the wish and that goes a long way to help brighten the spirits of those who live there.
"You may not realize that a lot of our residents have little to no family or no one to come visit them," he said. "This is very meaningful to them and they'll take that photo and display it. It may not be their family, but our residents see them as family in a way."
Even though the wishes were snapped up in quick succession, Dolynny said people will drop off cash donations and those go into a fund to help with resident programming.
"We have residents who like going to the (North Country) stables to pet the horses, or maybe some want to go have a barbecue or something like that out at the Yellowknife River," he said. "Those are just some examples of what we do and that helps ensure we can make that happen for them."
The Summit Air Spitfires U13 girls hockey team once again took on the challenge of finding the right gifts for their chosen wish. The Spitfires' recipient was a fan of photography, as well as Starbucks and a comfy pair of slippers.
"Our team manager took the girls shopping and it was a group effort," said Spitfires head coach Ryan Nichols. "We wrapped it all up and it was a great team bonding deal."
Nichols also said it's a way for the girls to give back to the community.
"The community gives so much to us so we can play hockey, so it's always good for us to return the favour," he said. "It's all about being part of a team and building better young ladies on and off the ice. People have helped us, so we're going to help them."
