How to Plan a Free Community Christmas Dinner

Previously published on Yahoo!
Tight times are prompting nonprofit organizations and churches to organize free community Christmas meals. Organizing free a meal is less challenging than it first appears. Breaking large tasks into small portions will help any church or nonprofit can host a community meal. This article can help any church or organization host a free community Christmas meal. Here is a guide to get you started.

Recruit team members.
Organizing the dinner can take anywhere from a few weeks to months. From the team leader to subcommittees the success of the event depends upon a committed team. The leader of the nonprofit or pastor should be on the team. Kitchen staff, greeters, communications, set-up, breakdown, clean-up and thank you volunteers are needed

Number of guests
Your team determines the number of adults and children who will be fed. Survey your area to determine both need and resources. The survey results will inform your decision on how many people to serve at the free community Christmas dinner.

When
After the survey the team will need to decide what date and time to hold the meal. Some groups decide to host it on Christmas day while other groups will prefer a different day.

Who
The team will need to decide how members will be identified at the meal. Guests and staff will need to be readily identified at a glace. Santa hats or large stickers are often used.

Dinner details
Team members need to decide if the meal will be pot luck, catered or a combination. The group needs to determine if paper goods will be used at the free community Christmas dinner and decide who will obtain them.

Menu
The menu for the free meal often contains turkey, dressing, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes (with or without gravy), green beans, rolls and dessert. It may also include ham, macaroni and cheese, a salad and sweet potatoes.

Many groups, but not all, like to have a traditional Christmas menu. When planning a free community Christmas dinner area traditions of the community must be considered. Food needs may vary by community.

Tickets or reservations
Free tickets can control the number of dinners offered. Tickets for the free Christmas meal can be distributed from the office of the church or nonprofit. Prevent fraudulent tickets by printing on bright card stock.

Reservations are an option to printed tickets. A church or organization phone is best for accepting reservations. Take the full name of caller, a phone number and the number of people who will be eating. Use this as a meal checklist later.

Communication
At this point the communication team members should swing into gear. Fliers about the free community meal can be posted in libraries, social service centers, laundromats and in storefront windows. Other possibilities are food pantries, hospitals, fire stations and police department chaplains.

Press releases need to be created and sent, fliers taken to schools and emails should be sent to local bloggers. Signage should be placed.

Set-up and Food preparation
The set-up and food team members should set up a day early. Place all tables, check and wash pots, decorate and evaluate kitchen supplies. Clearly mark all entrances, exits and bathrooms. Check bathrooms supplies the day before the free community Christmas dinner. Stock as necessary.

Greeters
These team members will mark off names, greet guests as they arrive and direct people to serving lines and bathrooms. They are the first faces guests will see at the free community Christmas dinner.

Food
Kitchen crew are responsible for the entire kitchen. They handle all kitchen details from food prep to conclusion.

Tear down
Volunteers who are involved in the tear down should arrive at least 30 minutes before the meal is to end. These team members will clear off and fold tables, sweep, mop, remove trash and be sure that everything is back in order. Help may be recruited from the dinner guests.

Thank you
Be sure to include donors, volunteers and representatives from other organizations or churches. Cards and letters should be sent to everyone who was involved with the free community Christmas meal. This important final step should not be overlooked.

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Almost empty nesting at Christmas

It is the oddest sensation that today doesn't seem like Christmas. Life has been so busy! I made eight loaves of sourdough bread for the food pantry and another ten to give to friends. Dozens of cookies were made, along with cheese straws and a yule log cake. I even ordered a new cookie press to make the cheese straws with. So why doesn't it feel like Christmas?

The flash flooding could have something to do with it. Rain water overflowed the culvert in front of our home. The end of our driveway was invisible and water spilled over the street. Now I know why they say not to drive on flooded roads. We are well acquainted with the lay of the land in front of our house. Yet, from the safety of our warm home we could not estimate the depth of the water. My husband and I were wearing short sleeves while we watched the downpour burst forth. It's strange for the weather to be so warm at Christmas.

I am happy to report that our tree, all two feet of it, is up and decorated. We will be planting it at some point after Christmas. A small tree is easier for us to decorate. I like the idea that this evergreen will be adding beauty for generations - unless some idiot chops it down later.

My oldest daughter is still at home. We are almost empty nesting this year. I fully anticipate that this will be our final Christmas with her. Our younger daughter and her husband are creating their new traditions from half a country away. They are probably alone today, but I'm confident that his parents will probably make the trip. At least I hope so since we cannot. Work duties preclude us from being able to go.

It is time for my husband and I to think about creating new traditions for our family. I'm not sure what that will look like. Friends go away for the holidays, but that's not an option for us.

For years, our small family would pile into the car after the first of the year for a break. Maybe my husband and I may have to try that. Sort of like an after-Christmas, after party. I like that idea. Maybe we could skiing? Or take the cruise to the Bahamas that Hubby has always wanted to do? Seeing the northern lights in Alaska sounds appealing too.

You know what? I think that I may like this new-tradition Christmas after all.

I hope yours is a merry one!

Delivery Christmas brings cheer disguised as cookies

The holiday season is here. For many of us these make the air tingle with excitement as we prepare for Christmas and the winter holidays. As we head out to the malls, WalMart, the grocery store many of us do so with the eager anticipation of reconnecting with family and friends.

Yet, the sad truth is that some of us aren't looking forward to the holidays. Christmas comes not as a day of ripped apart wrapping paper but as a reminder of a life that has been ripped apart. Poverty, domestic violence, a hospitalization and other losses can be magnified during the Christmas season.

Why not make a special effort to reach out to someone this year? That plate of cookies taken to the elderly neighbors down the street may make the holiday season a little brighter for them. A small gift picked up at the store can speak volumes to the recipient who needs a little extra cheer.

I have seen the magic work firsthand. My grandmother never had anything much to do with anyone outside of our immediate family. She was a crotchety old sort who managed to run off much of the family. 

For several years the couple across the street brought a small box of goodies over to her. It might be a few cookies, a few pieces of banana bread or small piece of fudge. The gift wasn't much but this is a time when the thought did count. Grandmother usually talked about the gift for weeks afterward. This is the kind of magic that can happen at Christmas.

This year, let's all try to reach out to one person that isn't in our usual circle. I'm convinced that together we can make some holiday magic happen. Each step may not be big or expensive but it may be enough to make someone smile. Surely we can do that. Can't we?

Second Sunday in Advent; Love

A common keyword for the Second Sunday of Advent is Love. For victims of sexual or domestic violence the word is entangled with all sorts of connotations. Unfortunately, not all of them are good. Feelings and positive emotions are often twisted in abusive relationships. They can become words of torture instead of  words that bring healing.

Advent is a time for Christians to refocus and gain clarity. The word Love for the Second Sunday in Advent reminds us that it is okay to receive and give healthy love. 

The Bible tells us in 1 Corinthians 13:4 that love is patient, kind and does not envy. It is not proud in an arrogant type of way. This is a scripture that many survivors find worth remembering because it outlines the tenants of a healthy relationship. Envy, lust and arrogance doesn't build up a relationship it destroys it. 

During this Second Sunday of Advent let us reflect on the word and what it may mean in our lives. Let us take inspiration in it and know that we are worthy of healthy love and of being loved. Love shown through patience and kindness endures. It builds each other up and most of all it doesn't abuse. 

Advent can bring hope to victims of domestic violence

It was pointed out to me that today is the first Sunday in Advent. This begins the Christian season of preparation before the birthday of the Christ child. It is a time of new beginnings and of hope. Possibly no group of people need hope more than victims of domestic violence.

The cycle of violence holds victims in darkness. Today, the first candles of Advent are being lighted across the globe. These tiny flickers are said to be lights of good in a dark world.

The flicker of hope is that keeps many victims of domestic violence going every day. We perpetually hold hope in our hearts that the abuse will end. Each day that dawns brings another opportunity for the violence to stop. Some say that victims of domestic violence live in fear.

At least some of the people that I have spoken with have dared to say otherwise. At least one person told me that she lives in hope that her situation will turn around and was actively working on making that happen. Others have echoed different versions of a similar belief.

It seems appropriate that she came to mind today as the Advent candle was lighted. The church softly glowed with the light of the tiny flickering candle. It is a reminder that even the tiniest flicker can hold meaning for many. For victims of domestic violence the light is a reminder that we have hope for a better world. Not only can we do this but we must. We have the right to hope. Abusers can take away a lot but this is one thing that cannot be taken away.

If you are in danger the people at the National Domestic Violence Hotline can help you. Visit www.ndvh.org or call 1.800.799.SAFE to create a safety plan and learn more about ending the cycle of abuse. 

Christmas as an adult gets better every year

The holidays were the worst time of year when I was a kid. Long hours at the family business made for long tempers on short fuses. My best hope was to duck my head down and stay out of the way. There was no escaping this. As a child I had no choice. As I became a teenager things improved by getting a job out of the house.

Christmas as an adult gets better every year. Now, I love the Christmas season and throw myself into it with gusto.If I'm making up for lost time I don't care. Now, if I hear of an event that sounds interesting I get to go. If I want to decorate one tree, three or none it's my prerogative. Finally, I get to make those Christmas cookies that always sounded like fun as a kid and I get to make them with my kids.

When you grow us in an abusive home you learn that the small things really are the big things in life. My heart used to hurt when friends talking about baking cookies with their mothers. That was something that I always wanted to do. Now, I can. In fact, it's one thing that my daughter's and I look forward to every year.

What I am trying to tell you is that Christmas as an adult gets better every year. You can walk away from the demons of your past by being kind to yourself during the holiday season. As one survivor to another I give you permission to go have fun.

Christ came so that we may have life and have it more abundantly. That's the meaning of the season. If you want to decorate one tree, three or none you can do that now. If you want to go to every holiday event that you hear about that's ok too.

Christmas should be a time to live and enjoy life. If you are a survivor of abuse give yourself a present. Go  enjoy the whole holiday season. Christ came so that you might have it. You deserve it. Now go, have fun and be a kid again. Only, don't be the kid that you were as a child. Be proud of yourself and be the kid that you want to be. Smile, laugh and enjoy life.