You can make Christmas merry for Kentucky Children’s Hospital patients

“It looks like Santa left you something!” Those are words that every kid wants to hear at Christmas, but not when followed by, “And it’s time to take your temperature.”

Every year, some kids wake up Christmas morning in about the least-merry place you can think of: a hospital.

But Kentucky Children’s Hospital does its best to make that a happy time, too, with surprise presents from Santa.

Traditionally, that has meant bags of age- and gender-appropriate clothes, toys and books and more pulled together (sometimes at the very last minute because new kids are always being admitted) by Santa’s helpers in scrubs.

“We made sure every child on Christmas morning had a gift,” said Jennifer Guilliams, Kentucky Children’s Hospital child and family life coordinator. “This year, we’re going to give Christmas back to the family. You’re here the week before, you didn’t get toys for kids at home, you’re stressed because you’ve got a sick kid in the hospital, ... you shouldn’t have to worry about those things.”

This year, parents of children who are in the hospital the week before Christmas can select gifts for their kids in the hospital and at home. They plan to transform the playroom into a “winter wonderland toy workshop,” filled with potential gifts, and let parents “shop” with “Santa Bucks” for what they want.

And they will partner with Jarrett’s Joy Cart, a gift program created by the late Jarrett Mynear, to let patients “shop” for their families, too.

“We’re going to open up and give the families and parents the opportunity to come in and choose items. We’ll wrap it up and give it to them in the room or let them take it home,” she said. “So they get to have the holiday when they want to. If they want to be Santa Claus, they get to be Santa Claus. ... We’re putting the control back in their hands.”

By expanding the program to those who are patients the week before Christmas, and by incorporating the neonatal intensive care unit, the hospital will need many more presents this year, Guilliams said.

“Our hospital can hold up to 50 to 60 kids, but we anticipate this year because we’re expanding it, we will touch that whole week more kids this year. And in the past, we have done a little bag for those in the neonatal intensive care unit, but this year we’ll be able to do something, too.”

The hospital gets some donations throughout the year, but there are plenty of needs all year, Guilliams said. The child life department helps patients celebrate birthdays and treatment milestones such as finishing chemotherapy. The department also stocks playrooms for the kids, with toys that periodically have to be replaced to minimize the risk of spreading infections.

“We try to (save things back) but it becomes really challenging, and we are constantly having patients come and go, … so we dwindle,” she said. “We’d love to start having ‘Christmas in July’ to stock playrooms and help kids all year long.”

The hospital can accept donations of new, unwrapped toys, games, puzzles, books, movies and more for children from birth to 18 years. The list includes gift wrapping and gift cards. The hospital will take donations through Dec. 23.

Things they can’t accept: flowers, food, latex balloons or toys, or used items of any kind.

To schedule a donation drop-off, contact the child life department at KCHChildlife@uky.edu or call 859-323-6551.

You can also give by buying from Kentucky Children’s Hospital’s wish list at Walmart.com, Amazon.com or ToysRUs.com. Donate money directly at uky.networkforgood.com/causes/5413-child-life-program-gift-fund.

This story was originally published December 13, 2017 at 4:15 PM with the headline "You can make Christmas merry for Kentucky Children’s Hospital patients."