When I was hired more than a decade ago as a child life assistant, I was told that I’d have to work Christmas Day. And since then, I’ve fallen in love with working on Christmas.

We’re there for families during some of their most stressful times, and able to bring some kind of joy and normalcy to a child when they’re in the hospital and sad because they feel like they are missing out on Christmas. 

At the Plano campus, about a week before Christmas, we set up our Christmas store so families can shop for free for gifts for the patient and siblings for whatever holiday they celebrate. And we have some really great gifts for parents and caregivers to choose from. Last year, we received several wooden dollhouses, and other years, we’ve had bikes we’re able to offer. And the great part about it is families aren’t expecting it, and it’s nice to be able to provide this during a stressful time.

We wrap up the gifts and leave them at the nurse’s stations on Christmas Eve and overnight, like Santa, they’ll drop the gifts in the patients’ rooms. 

We always tell the families that this is possible because of donations from the community. Sometimes, we’ll have families who were here during the holidays come back the next year and want to make a toy donation, and that’s how the chain of giving continues. 

When we say we make life better for children, it’s evident in the little things like this that make a difference. In Child Life, this is how we make our mission come to life.