North End Christmas making final push for donations ahead of the holidays

North End Christmas is preparing for its annual holiday party, and volunteers are asking for one final push of donations to make sure each child leaves the party with a toy.

“The families that come to the party vary, there’s no one singular story. But one thing that is often in common is that these families are having some difficult times financially. For a lot of families times are difficult, it’s hard to make ends meet,” explained Kyle Mason, founder & organizer of the North End Christmas.

“Now after the last couple years of COVID and now the rising cost of basically everything, it’s kind of like a mixture of one, two punch that could potentially be a knockout for some families, and sometimes the dollars don’t just stretch enough every month.”

Mason says this holiday season, North End Christmas will have many Christmas trees is aiming to get a tree, Santa, and of course, plenty of toys.

“We’re going to be serving a turkey meal with all the fixings. Santa — the real Santa — is coming down for pictures with families. So we’re going to have nice, big Christmas trees set up and Santa’s going to be there to welcome all the kids and families to take a picture.”

Mason says he organizes the party every year, as it’s a cause personal to him and close to his heart.

“I remember growing up in the North End with my single mother. Many of our Christmases were pretty lean, so I’d go back to school after the Christmas break and my friends would come back with a laundry list of things that they got and mine was a lot smaller. It was hard, it was embarrassing, I felt very “other” and very different from my friends,” said Mason.

“I know what it’s like … There were times in my upbringing where we struggled with secure housing and food. There were times where people would leave anonymous food donations at our door. There were times where we were taken in by family when housing was an issue. … So most of my life and my career I’ve been feeling this need, this passion, this drive, to help affect community change. Being a North-ender myself still to this day, that’s also where I think about first.”

Mason says over the last sixteen years, the party has grown from 50 people to 130 families.

“Families come in. They often come in stressed and feeling a bit worn out. People just sometimes don’t know what to expect but as the night goes on those smiles get bigger and bigger. Particularly with the kids. What kid doesn’t like seeing Santa and getting to sit on his lap, shake his hand, or whatever,” he explained.

“When the parents and caregivers see their kids have a good time, they start to have a good time. It’s a good meal, it’s a fun Christmas carol singalong, and then of course who doesn’t enjoy being able to pick out a gift for their kids.”

He says it’s an evening where kids get to be kids and families get to take home memories with photographs. But Mason says toys are still needed for the children coming to the party on Tuesday.

“This is our way to attempt to help families make sure that they can have a nice family Christmas party, they get their pictures with Santa, and that the kids will have at least one new toy on Christmas morning.”

Santa, says the joy of children being gifted a present also extends to other family members.

WATCH: Erwin “Santa” Warkentin shares a message to children celebrating this holiday season

“Kids are what makes the season and the joy, the excitement that they exhibit, it just warms my heart and provides the kind of excitement and joy that I like to share at Christmastime as well,” explained Erwin Warkentin, Santa for North End Christmas.

“I think it’s become a very important community event in the area of the St John’s Cathedral and it’s something that I look forward to a great deal and I’m sure that the families do as well,” Warkentin added.

“It’s so important for these kids to have some sort of a tangible recognition of what the spirit of Christmas is all about. A toy really isn’t much, but it’s so important to these kids and to the extent that we are able to participate in the generosity of the season, by all means. Please, if you’re able to do that. Help out. This is a very important cause, and it’s such a joy for these kids to receive the gifts that mean so much for them,” Warkentin finalized.

Mason added, “I know that while this may not be a basic necessity for life, it is very important for happiness and joy and mental health.”

Anyone looking to donate can click here to donate online or visit Birchwood Automotive dealerships, Modern Coffee, Olympia Cycle and Ski, Folio Café, Remax on Pembina Highway, and NCI Radio for in-person donations.