In 2017, my uncle was at a wonderful and loving assisted living facility.  At Christmas, we brought a lot of Christmas gifts to him for a big holiday celebration.  My uncle Kent was so embarrassed that we brought so many gifts because his friends didn’t receive any gifts and sometimes not even a phone call.  He ended up giving the gifts we gave him to his friends to brighten up their Christmas.  So instead of having a family Christmas, we ended up having a family and friends Christmas! 

My uncle Kent passed away that next April, but the memory of that Christmas stuck with me.  My husband and I were determined to bring Christmas cheer to the many times overlooked population of older citizens that are sometimes forgotten. 

We reached out to assisted living and memory care facilities in our hometown of Parker, Colorado and the activities directors were thrilled at the idea of bringing gifts and visits from Santa and Mrs. Claus.  In November, the caregivers ask the residents what they want for Christmas.  Many of the items on the list were nightgowns and clothing because they hadn’t been shopping for years and needed new underwear, socks, and toiletries. They give us the list and we customize each present along with stocking stuffers.  Then the fun begins, as we visit each facility and individually hand out each present.  Many times, the residents will cry because they were not forgotten.  We discovered that in memory care, the residents may not know who their family members are, but many times will remember Santa and start telling us about Christmas’ they had when they were kids or young parents. 

In 2019, Santa for Seniors was grassroots.  We went out to the community with the Christmas lists and asked the community to purchase the gifts for us.  As we grew, and unfortunately not everybody that took a name followed through with the gifts, we started purchasing the gifts ourselves.  When small businesses in our hometown found this out, they wanted to give us money to purchase the gifts.  So in 2024, Santa for Seniors became an official 501(3)c.