{"id":27065,"date":"2012-12-17T19:26:12","date_gmt":"2012-12-18T03:26:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/198.57.196.122\/~gdatwofo\/theavtimes\/?p=27065"},"modified":"2019-02-07T14:31:08","modified_gmt":"2019-02-07T22:31:08","slug":"graceful-christmas-party-spreads-cheer-to-more-than-1000-children","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/2012\/12\/17\/graceful-christmas-party-spreads-cheer-to-more-than-1000-children\/","title":{"rendered":"Graceful Christmas party spreads cheer to more than 1,000 children"},"content":{"rendered":"
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John Keith from Paving the Way Foundation shows children how to create a chalk mural at Grace Resource Center\u2019s Graceful Christmas party. The event took place Monday from 2 to 5 pm.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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About 1,200 children received toys, organizers said.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

LANCASTER \u2013 Christmas came early for more than one thousand local children from households with limited income.<\/p>\n

The kids received presents, visited with Santa, sang along to Christmas carols, and enjoyed cookies and soda Monday afternoon, as part of Grace Resource Center\u2019s Graceful Christmas party.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor a lot of these kids, this will be the only new toy that they get this year, so it\u2019s important,\u201d said Special Events Coordinator Lynda Elmes, adding that it\u2019s the second year the center has hosted the event.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s obvious why it\u2019s important for the kids, but what\u2019s really important is we couldn\u2019t do it without the support of the community,\u201d said Grace Resources Director Steve Baker.<\/p>\n

Dozens of entities, including the fire department, the boy scouts, several local churches, and private businesses, donated toys to ensure that each of the 1,200 children at the party would take home a toy, Baker said.<\/p>\n

The line stretched around the block as families patiently waited to get into the toy room, where every child under 12 picked out a new toy.<\/p>\n

The party, which went from 2 to 5 p.m., also featured a sing along to holiday classics with the Crown Valley Church of Acton and face painting, courtesy of the Antelope Valley community queens.<\/p>\n

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Miss Antelope Valley Shannon Gonzales was one of several community queens who helped with kids’ face painting.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI\u2019m painting kids\u2019 faces with a snowman, snowflakes, Santa hats, just whatever they want to bring them some Christmas cheer,\u201d said Miss Antelope Valley Shannon Gonzales. \u201cIt\u2019s a good way for us to get involved and learn what the Christmas spirit is really all about.\u201d<\/p>\n

Several volunteers from local service organizations also helped the children with arts and crafts. John Keith from Paving the Way Foundation showed a handful of children how to create the perfect chalk mural.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m just here to keep their spirits up high,\u201d Keith said, adding that the party was especially important to families facing financial difficulties this season.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey don\u2019t have the finances to be able to give their kids a Christmas that they would like, so this is another avenue for them to be able to enjoy Christmas, get into the holiday spirit, and forgot about their economic situation for a while,\u201d Keith said.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
After selecting their toys, children got to visit with Santa and Mrs. Claus.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
The event also included arts and crafts for the family.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Attendees sang along to holiday classics with the Crown Valley Church of Acton.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
The line stretched around the block, as families patiently waited to get into the toy room, where every child under 12 picked out a new toy.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

–<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

LANCASTER \u2013 Christmas came early for more than one thousand local children from households with limited income. The kids received presents, visited with Santa, sang along to Christmas carols, and enjoyed cookies and soda Monday afternoon, as part of Grace Resource Center\u2019s Graceful Christmas party. \u201cFor a lot of these kids, this will be the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":27066,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27065"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27065"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27065\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27066"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27065"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27065"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27065"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}