Making Christmas special for a single mom and daughter
Since Dec. 1, Christin Andersen's daughter Keira has asked her the same question every day, “Is tomorrow Christmas?” At six years old, Keira is more excited for Christmas than she’s ever been. She's full of energy and rarely to be found without a grin from ear to ear.
And Christin, a 27-year-old single mom, is excited and more than willing to make the holiday everything it can be for her daughter. There’s just one main problem: She’s doing it all on her own. Keira’s dad is still involved in her life, but he and Christin are separated, and she’s financially responsible for herself and Keira.
“Being a young single mom, that's always going to be difficult,” she said. “I've just focused on us and trying to build stability for us.”
Christin works hard as a cashier at a construction supply store, so she’s able to make ends meet — but the budget is tight. Unfortunately, that often limits what’s possible for big holidays like Christmas. Her original plan for the holiday celebration was humble but heartwarming: She had picked out a few small, meaningful presents for Keira and was content to go without anything for herself.
“It means the world to me to give Keira a good Christmas,” Christin said. “It’s all for her.”
Then, she ran into her old coworker Lynn Schmidt, who happens to be the volunteer coordinator for St. Vincent de Paul’s Adopt-a-Family program.
The program serves families in need of holiday help, pairing them with donors who want to ensure every family, no matter their financial circumstance, has a special Christmas. The donors buy and deliver presents and a holiday meal so that families can make holiday memories to last a lifetime, regardless of the struggles they might be going through.
Lynn knew that Christin could use the help to make Keira’s Christmas extra special and encouraged her to fill out the Adopt-a-Family form for her family.
“I'm particularly drawn to young single moms,” Lynn said. “Moms that work hard all day, moms that have jobs, keep a clean house, keep a structure in their home, keep their kids tasked and focused. And I'm drawn to this young lady because she's just that.”
Christin took her up and filled out the papers, but she left the section for herself blank. “As long as she’s [Keira's] taken care of, then I’m good,” said Christin, who remained focused on her daughter.
That didn’t stop Lynn and the donor family (who wished to stay anonymous, even from Christin) from getting her something special anyway. Using the information and wish lists provided by SVdP's Adopt-a-Family program, the donor family did its best to buy presents for Christin and Keira.
On Dec. 17, Lynn delivered the box full of presents to the single mom and daughter's house. As the adults carried in the presents, Keira became so excited that she suddenly became bashful and didn’t know how to react. The number of presents under the tree grew exponentially in the course of five minutes.
But that didn’t stop her from wanting to open one of the presents though! With permission from her mom, she opened one in front of Lynn: A new art set full of colored pencils, notebooks, and more.
And Christin didn't know it yet, but she could also expect a winter coat, some cozy flannels and a pair of black running shoes after opening presents on Christmas morning.
Just looking at the wrapped presents and taking in the moment with her daughter, Christin felt overwhelmed from the generosity of a stranger and inspired for the future.
“I would like to eventually be able to give back in the same way,” Christin said. “It's really nice, and we’re just so grateful.”
