Early in the morning, volunteers brought gifts, food, cakes, and holiday cheer to the You Dao Baoshan and Qingpu activity centers, to celebrate Christmas with the local migrant children.
The two centers were filled with holiday joy and fun. The teachers helped the children put ornaments on a Christmas tree and helped decorate the classroom in a festive spirit. The children at Beiyaoan painted the blackboard with a creative holiday scene.
At the Qingpu center, over 45 migrant children celebrated the day with 18 volunteers. The children sang, “We wish you a Merry Christmas” in Chinese and the volunteers returned the favor singing the same song in English. The teacher then talked about the history and importance of the holiday; quizzing the children on their knowledge of the holiday. Everyone then gathered together and designed and made Christmas cards for their families. The activities then moved outside where the children and volunteers teamed up for a variety of games, culminating in a tug of war contest. Finally, the children got to meet Santa Clause who passed out gifts and sweets. Many of the children brought the desserts home to share with their families.
At the Baoshan center, 26 volunteers helped lead activities for over 60 joyous children. The children were able to display their creativity and artistic talents in decorating the blackboard in a festive theme. The volunteers also played different games with the children celebrating Christmas and several children’s’ birthdays. The volunteers also explained the importance of Christmas and the holiday spirit. Finally, Santa Claus arrived with his bag of gifts and started to hand them out to the happy children.
The two events were filled with joy and laughter. The children really enjoyed sharing in the holiday joy with the warm and caring volunteers.