I CELEBRATE CHRISMAS

 

Unfortunately It’s true I observe and celebrate the Christmas season in the way that I want to not the way YOU want me too. Since starting the Fraser Valley Secret Santa page I have seen the good, the bad and the downright ugly of how some perceive the holiday season. I have been called a Racist because I have only posted pictures of a white Santa ( SANTA IS ANY COLOR GENDER OR RACE THAT YOU SEE HIS SPIRIT TO BE ), I have been called a liar from those who have said I don’t really help people and I am just looking for attention and I have been accused of boosting my like numbers and using the food bank and social issues to do so. This I would like to address! Have I asked for more likes, yes I have and if that’s what it takes to get more people to think about donating to the Food Bank, thinking about animals and sick children and how they could use our help, I’m guilty and my job is complete, I have not FORCED anyone to like me, people do that on their own, no one has brainwashed anyone to magically love Christmas, it’s  something that everyone who’s liked this page just does.  As for Helping with fund raising efforts, it is something that I do because I feel that I need to do it, I do not force feed my feelings on anyone, I just hope some will be inspired to join in and make our communities a little bit better. So I am a little bit confused as to why there are some individuals that feel the need to try (and I stress try) to inflict their beliefs and hatred of Christmas upon me. The Santa page was set up for ME, my family and the people that choose to celebrate the holidays in the same way. If you are one of the people who do not celebrate the holidays in the same manner as my family or  thousands of others, I am sure that you can find better ways to spend your time .There are other pages that feel the same as you! please go find them. I may not be your traditional Santa and I do not feel the need to justify myself with my fundraising efforts but if you truly want to know about me take a few minutes before you start to pop off about Santa or the people that have been helped and Google Fraser Valley Secret Santa, READ MY BLOGS go on to FVsecretsanta.com. On the Santa Space posts I try and inform everyone every time there’s a random present drop or have observed a good deed.  I may not be your run of the mill Santa, I don’t claim to be! What I am is a guy that DOES help the homeless, DOES help the hungry, DOES try and help children’s charities and simply DOES not hold a person’s skin color religion or background against them. Every person in my opinion is the same color and it’s the shade of human.  I am the first to admit that I LOVE the holiday season and what it represents peace, love, family and joy for so many and Hope to those who have none.  To those with the argument that Christmas is too commercialized and expensive, my response will always be the same, I agree but for me  it’s not about how much money you spend on gifts or how many gifts you buy it’s about being with family and friends, showing love to people that need our help. If you become broke after the holiday season that is your own fault, no one forces you to live outside your means, you have done that to yourself trying to impress people or keep up with the so called Jones’s. This is all blunt and honest and I apologize to those who may be offended by what I am saying but this is how I feel, surely some had no problem telling me how they felt when they called me a racist and a liar. Having no sponsors, I have spent countless of my own dollars over the years creating smiles running a website that helps anyone who needs a message sent or fundraiser advertised for free of charge so that it cuts down at least one of their advertising costs, or someone with a disability can try and sell there handmade arts and crafts to earn some pocket money. I am not just a pop up now for the holiday’s kind of person, I have been a Secret Santa for a long time in the Fraser valley before Facebook and Twitter and I will continue to be for many years after. I hope you continue to like and follow Santa , if you choose not to, I understand that also. I wish you all prosperity, good health and a
Very Merry Christmas.

THE SHINY BLUE BIKE

This is my attempt at writing a Christmas style children's story for my kids, especially for the little one who just wants to be soooo big. be kind in your review I am a Santa not a writer :)

Barrett sat on the curb day after day watching his brothers ride their bikes

 

Barrett wanted to have a bike of his own but his mom and dad said "you are too small maybe when you get Bigger"

 

Barrett knew he was not too small, he was a big boy!  walking away he let out a sigh! 

 

 

Barret got an idea, an idea on how he could get a bike  

 

Barrett thought “maybe Santa will bring me a shiny Blue bike for Christmas”!.

 

Even though it was Spring  and Barrett knew Christmas was a long way away

 

He hurried up to his room with a pencil and some  paper to write Santa a letter

 

In his best words he wrote “Dear Santa, I reeeeeally would like a shiny Blue bike for Christmas so I can ride with my brothers, Love Barrett"

 

Barrett asked mom for an envelope, she wrote in big letters “ATTN: Santa” on the front,

 

Barrett filled with excitement made the long walk to the post box, reached up on his tip toes and mailed his letter off to Santa  

 

Months passed and as Christmas grew closer Barrett became more excited! he could not stop thinking about that shiny blue bike that he asked Santa for.

 

 Christmas morning finally had arrived, Barrett jumped out of bed before anyone else and ran down the stairs to see if Santa had come! He had

 

Under the tree was filled with beautiful packages, Barrett looked at each package with his name on it, his smile began to fade when he realized there was no shiny blue bike

 

Though he was disappointed, he thought to himself Maybe Santa didn't get his letter, or maybe Santa didn’t think he was big enough? Barrett felt Sad.

 

Mom asked " Barrett what's wrong?” Barrett said “I really wanted a shiny Blue bike so I could ride and play with my brothers” Mom gave Barrett a big hug and said maybe next Christmas.

 

Barrett, with a half-smile said  “ it’s ok mom, Santa has his reasons , maybe someone needed a bike more than me this year, I will play with my new toys and wait until I am bigger”

 

Even though Barrett knew he was big enough to ride a bike, he went to his room and decided to write another letter to Santa " Dear Santa, thank you for my new toys, I am sad because really wanted a shiny blue bike but I am happy with what you brought for me”

 

With dinner in the oven and presents all unwrapped, Mom asked  Barrett “Barrett do you want to put your shoes on to go outside and play”

 

Barrett agree'd and walked down the stairs with his letter to Santa in his hand and head slunk down low.

 

As Barrett opened the garage to put his shoes on he spotted something glowing

 

The most beautiful shiny Blue bike he could have ever imagined.

 

Barrett raced over to the bike, opened the card and saw the words written by Santa himself  “Barrett, thank you for your letter , sorry I had to put your shiny Blue Bike in the garage but there was no more room under the tree, be careful, love Santa

 

Barrett took the card and ran back in the house, swooshing past his mom and dad! Mom asked “Barrett where are you going? Don't you want to ride your new bike? Barrett said “YES but I have to do something first"

 

In his room Barrett opened the letter he had just written to Santa

 

Barrett took his pencil and added 1 more line to the letter “I knew I was big enough, Love Barrett”

 

Barrett  put on his helmet, smiled and he rode all day with his brothers. On his shiny blue bike

 

The end

Never Grow Up

Today marks the 30 day countdown

As it stands while I write it’s now 30 days left until Christmas 2014! I as many of you are getting excited and amped up for the holiday season.

I have been so impressed with the love and support that you all have shown both on twitter and on my new Facebook page. 24,000 followers on twitter and almost 1500 likes on Facebook so far, WOW that is way beyond my expectations. Fundraiser sales have not materialized as I had hoped but at least we can say we tried our best.

With a growing number of people learning about Fraser Valley Secret Santa I have been exposed to those who display hate towards the holidays as well, I will say that I respect the fact that people have their own opinion but the question that I have is if you detest Christmas so much how come you are visiting my page on a regular basis and commenting so often? let’s be clear there have not been a ton of negative Christmas feedback I don’t want you to think that I am inundated but there has been a few. The most common snipe that you hear is “Grow Up” and my answer to that is why? The world that we live in is so diluted with death, abuse, war, terror and negativity why not take a season that brings happiness and joy to most around the world and celebrate it! Embrace it and carry it as far as it will go to give that temporary reprieve from the negative. Having the look of excitement on children’s faces not only Christmas morning but for months before and months after just by simply saying the word Santa is enough for me to continue. It’s the negative in this world that breeds more negativity and the same would happen if people became more positive.

The reasons for me doing what I do not only at Christmas but all year round is simply for the fact that if people continually see positive things happen and are exposed to Random acts of kindness they just may in turn commit a random act of kindness towards others. Prime example was the other day I was at Tim Horton’s getting my coffee and I decided to purchase coffee for the 3 people in line behind me, each person was pleased and thanked me but it’s what they did that made the difference, 2 of the people put the coffee money they were to use in the donation jar to send Children to camp and the 3^rd person took the opportunity to pay it forward and bought the person behind them their coffee. So with one simple act of kindness we were able to create 4 smiles, help raise money for Children’s Charity and have people we don’t even know to start their day on a positive note. The best gift that I got from the whole experience is that my son was with me and he saw firsthand that being kind to others makes you feel good and can truly make a difference. I am quite sure that solving the world’s problems is not going to happen just from purchasing someone’s morning coffee but I think it’s a great place to start.

So the next time some tells you to “grow up” or hears Christmas is too commercialized and so on and so on, I would say to them “ Christmas is what you make of it , it doesn’t have to be expensive or elaborate it just has to be celebrated with the ones you love, that’s why celebrating with family, friends and the ones you care about are a gift , they are present” as for growing up , I don’t think that will ever happen for me anyways I love the way the season makes me feel and the joy that surrounds it. Never let the kid in you be taken away by anyone, believe in Magic   

Keep visiting fvsecretsanta.com and countdown with me   

Media Power

In this week’s post I wanted to share a very special story of the power of social media and the kindness of others. Sometimes all anyone has to do is ask for help and those who are able to will and those who cannot will put you in touch with someone who can. I know that I always say “SHARE on Facebook” or “Retweet on Twitter” but it’s for a reason (most of the time) it’s to find help for those who need it. It takes nothing for us to RT and to share, a click of a button but you never know who may see and read it and be able to help when you yourself cannot.

Maybe I am different, I am not one of these people who use social media to become a Twitter Star or a Facebook celebrity, I SIMPLY WISH TO TRY AND HELP WHERE I CAN, that doesn’t just mean here in the Fraser Valley and Vancouver area but all around the world.  Here is a story that was sent to me and it shows the power and kindness of people. If you have a story that you would like to share or just feel that someone you may know in your community that deserves to be recognized for their kindness and passion for giving back just let me know, that’s what fvsecretsanta.com is all about  

“Hi, just wanted to share something so you understand! I have no money, I have a home and a family. I wrote a letter on Facebook to a local page telling them that I wanted some help, nothing free just help. I explained that my lovely dad has dementia and is losing his memory quickly, my mom is struggling though she is usually very strong she feels like she is losing him I remembered a long time ago she mentioned how she would like to renew her vows with my dad and it was their 50th Anniversary this year, so I asked for help, where do I start, how do I do it? On Dec 20th my mom and dad will be renewing their vows, I had three people give me enough money for the register office, I have a two tier heart cake coming made by a lady who doesn't know me, I have a room and DJ for two hours he will play quietly just enough time so we don't wear my dad out from a man I have never met, a lady handmade me some invitations I don't know her, someone is making mom a bouquet free! My parents are invited to see my husband and I renew our vows.....so they think! There is the spirit of Christmas....what could I possibly need? X” DM

Don’t forget all local food drives have started for the holiday season , if you are in the Fraser valley stop in and see Mark and the staff at “SUNRISE TOYOTA” and lets help fill as many trucks as possible for the Abby food bank. They do an amazing job each year to try and donate as much as they can to make the holidays a little more special for those who are less fortunate.

Loves and hugs from the Santa Family

R-A-T-B-D

Major donation from Abbotsford VW

I wanted to let you all know that we had our first major donation of the holiday season today!! I am so excited. A very special thank you goes out to the staff at Abbotsford Volkswagen for their generous donation of an IPad. After learning about Fraser Valley Secret Santa and about some of the Charity projects that Mrs. Santa is working on (making burial hats and outfits for the NICU babies that unfortunately pass away) they have generously donated a very special gift to her to give away to a deserving family who would not be able to afford such an item. The  family in Aldergrove will be receiving a new iPad. For months now Mrs. Santa has been on the lookout for a laptop for the  family with no avail. These people spend most of their available free time in the community helping someone. For the last couple years I have gotten to know the  family well and have seen their generosity towards others and their commitment to helping all who need it. FOR EXAMPLE: when in passing one day through casual conversation they informed me that a friend of his mothers had passed away and they were going to help clean out the home and take the items to the thrift store for donation, the family did not have the means or the vehicle to get the job done, after several trips back and forth they discovered a woman who was digging in items that the thrift store did not want. After striking a conversation they had come to find out that this woman was previously homeless and had just been able to get her own place after years of transition but did not have anything or any more money to furnish the place. The family promptly stopped making  trips to the thrift store and made the trips to this woman’s home with all the items. after hours of moving and setting up items for someone that they did not even know,  even using some items from their own house! they were able to leave knowing that this woman could now have a place to call her own and fully furnished for the first time in a years. This is the type of people they are. In a world that seems to struggle with finding ways of showcasing the positives and will focus on the negatives (just turn on the evening news or open a newspaper ) we are glad that FVsecretsanta.com can be a forum for anyone who wants to tell the world just how spectacular another person is can do so.

The  family in Aldergrove we hope that you enjoy your IPad and thank you for being the spectacular and amazing people that you are and we know that you will continue to try and help others any chance that you get. It’s great to know wonderful people like you .

Contemplating

As the days draw closer to Christmas, (51 days to go as I write) I find myself contemplating whether or not to go on with @fvsecretsanta after the holidays. It's been an amazing run of 8 years now . I know that we have helped so many , spread a positive message and hopefully inspired some to be the change they want to see in this world. More and more I have seen a decline in the amount of donations from individuals and companies that have helped me in the past, sales of Charity items have not transpired as I would have hoped, the website is not bringing the traffic  I visioned , we could not even secure a Turkey for a needy family to enjoy a Christmas dinner yet. In all honesty it has been financially stressing trying to keep it all up. As with everything in life there is a shelf life, has FVSECRETSANTA reached its expiration date? I don't know . I used to believe that if TeamSanta had more followers it would be easier to draw attention to the causes that we're trying to help, just the opposite has happened , no interaction, no corporate donations this year and little  interest in items that people have offered up as for sale items in hopes of donating the proceeds to charity. I get it times are tough for all of us , me included and maybe that's why I am torn to wether I stay or go. So many people need help but we can not continue to do it in our own. Will I ever save the world and cure all that ails it , 100% NO and I know that, I just hope that the people who have been a part of my little piece of the world for the past 8 years are better for knowing me because I know I am a better person for getting to know all of you.