Santa’s Workshop is a decades-old tradition at PJ. Kids visit our very own Santa’s Workshop; the gym which has been decorated and filled with items they can select as gifts for immediate family members, purchase, and wrap. All items are sold for $2. It is a huge treat for our children to do this independently and surprise their family with a gift. They are often the presents that must be opened first on Christmas morning! To make this wonderful PJ PAC event happen, there is a lot of coordinating, volunteering and gifts to be supplied. Santa’s Workshop requires at least 1,600 items to be donated, items to be sorted, the gym to be decorated, and cleaned-up.
PJ donates half of the funds collected to a charity. Last year we raised $2826.55, half of which went to PJPAC and half to Family Services of the North Shore. In addition, any items left over are donated to the Christmas Bureau.
Donations
All your gently used donations can be dropped off at the outside gyms doors every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 8:30 to 9:00am, and 2:30 to 3:00pm. We can only accept items that are in good condition (ie. contains all pieces, in working condition, etc). Remember, these items will make a Christmas gift for someone else! If your donation has already been cleaned, kindly indicate so with a note on the item.
Items we are collecting include:
- Toys, complete puzzles, and games
- Small electronics
- Sports items
- Tools, gardening items
- Jewelry, purses, bags
- Ties and scarves (that can be washed), belts
- Adult and teen books
- Knickknacks, kitchen items
- Christmas/holiday decorations
- Unused/unopened makeup/cosmetics/bath products
Think of dads and teens, where we are often lacking enough suitable gifts.
We are also collecting gift wrap, tape, bows, gift bags of all sizes, labels, and jewelry boxes/bags so the kids can wrap gifts in the gym. We are not accepting food, items larger/heavier than a child can carry out, clothing or children’s books (the kids do not select these for their siblings).
Volunteer
Whether you have one hour to spare or three… we have a job for you!
Collection from November – December
Help us to collect, move and sort our Santa’s workshop gifts! Help to move donations inside in the mornings on Monday, Wednesday or Friday or sort and box donations on Friday afternoon. Sign up here.
Preparation, washing and testing the gifts on December 15 or 18
Assist with the preparation and cleaning of donations! We need some help testing electronics, washing stuffies and cleaning/packaging jewellery. Sign up here.
Set up and Event Day December 16 – 18
We need some help moving items and starting set up on December 16th but most of the work happens on the 17th. So much to do from setting up our market tables to decorating the gym. We are also asking parents to drop off snacks for our volunteers, help with gifts, assist with our wrapping station, collect money and then stick around to clean up after. Sign up here (coming soon).
Thank you for your participation! If you have any questions, please email our Santa’s Workshop Lead.
