A Craigslist Christmas story

It's finally Christmas and today was a day to remember. You might already know that my family has been trying for weeks to adopt a family for Christmas but it never worked out. Last night I posted another ad on craigslist advertising "Free Christmas Dinner" and finally got a response. Everyone kept warning me that it was a huge risk inviting complete strangers to my house, but I was going to anyway. Today we ended up with 6 new friends over for Christmas while other family came and went throughout the day. I had no idea how amazing today would be.

The group included:
-Lloyd: an amazing man who has fallen on rough times and is homeless in Seattle. I picked him up this morning at a gas station and he has brightened our home since he got here. Simple enthusiasm about things that I so easily take for granted really made me rethink my attitude. We gave him a few basic things: a pair of jeans, some socks, and a travel bag of razors, shaving cream, tooth paste, etc. He was practically a different man after showering, shaving, putting on clean clothes, and enjoying a normal dinner. He will never know how rewarding his presence was to me today.

-Ann & her daughter Charene: These 2 drove all the way from Tacoma just to be with us. I don't know their story but they were a delight to have. I'm glad they joined us for whatever reason it was.

-Brad: a mid 20's navy man that doesn't know many people in the area or have any family that is closer than the east coast. He lit up my little sisters face with stories about Japan & held my dads attention while talking about his duties aboard the ship. He ended the night by inviting my family over on Thursday for dinner at his house so we'll see what comes of it..

-Jim: An older man with so much life in him. He told stories about how his mother would host soldiers in their home over the holidays, and remarked that invitations like this were so rare these days. He would have spent Christmas alone at his house but instead he put on a nice shirt w/ slacks, and braved the snow flurries to join us.

-Don: a middle aged man who absolutely cracks me up. He was so funny and was in the greatest mood all night. He kept the conversation going between everyone by talking about social differences and why people are so unwelcoming to each other in this area. He really appreciated having a place to spend today and kept reminding me that family is really taken for granted until you find yourself spending holidays alone.

I really do encourage more people to do something like this in the future. It was absolutely amazing and more rewarding than I ever would have imagined. We barely spent any extra money on food and everyone had more than enough to eat. All the food that normally becomes forgotten holiday left overs went to feed someone instead. There was no drama, no crazy people, no violence. We chatted while dinner was cooking and listened to holiday music in the background. We made a line and went around the table buffet style, then gathered in the living room to pray before eating. Everyone even helped clean up the kitchen afterwards. We watched "A Muppet Christmas Carol" and then played the board game "Risk". By the end of the night everyone had really bonded. We made copies of everyones names, phone numbers, and email addresses, along with a promise of meeting up again someday. I'm glad that we were able to pull 6 random strangers out of the cold and enjoy eachothers company for a day. If everyone always helped out someone else- we would all be taken care of. I couldn't have asked for a better holiday.