Delivery Day Memories

 "Growing up, delivering for Santas Anonymous taught my brother and I to never judge someone for the house they live in."

I've been delivering for Santas Anonymous for 23 years, ever since I was little my parents would take me and my brother out. We would wait in line long before the depot doors even opened - no matter what the temperature was. It was a yearly tradition and it still is.

Growing up, delivering for Santas Anonymous was a lot more than just delivering for the less fortunate. It taught my brother and I to never judge someone for the house they live in. To not assume that they are better off than others. There were times we would deliver a bag of gifts to a “mansion”, my parents were sure to explain to us that just because they are living in this big house doesn’t mean that they have a lot of money. We don’t know the circumstances, perhaps they had to move back with their parents to make ends meet; or to get out of a bad situation. There's a million reasons why they could be receiving these gifts, but one thing for sure everyone we have delivered to have been extremely thankful. No one delivery is more deserving than the other.

One of my favourite memories delivering for Santas Anonymous was to an apartment on the 4th floor with my Dad. We climbed the stairs in our snow suits because it was freezing cold that day. We had our Santa hats on and the big bag of presents for a boy and girl both under 7 years old. We knocked on the door and the parents opened up, they were so ecstatic that we were there. At the time their children were sleeping, they went and woke them up. We could hear from the hallway “Wakeup! Santa’s here!” The children came running out of their room so excited. This family didn’t have much, there was no couch or dining room table. But here they were digging through the fridge offering us water and food. The generosity of this family is overwhelming.

It’s the feel good moments from delivery weekend that make you so excited for next year. Every year the amount of deliveries we choose to do increases, its so heartwarming knowing that theses gifts are getting to these deserving families because of us. Now having a family of my own I couldn’t be more excited to be able to share these memories with my son.

- Kayla Clement