Say goodbye to the humbugs

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 10/12/2019 (2441 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve had a real case of the humbugs this year.

Normally, I get right into the holidays — you know, deck them halls and all that stuff. But, for whatever reason, December has felt extra dark and gloomy this year — and also like it’s been approximately 6,000 years long and not, as of this writing, 10 days — and I just haven’t been feeling especially Christmassy.

I realize it sounds like I’m describing seasonal affective disorder, which I definitely also have, but this is different. This is the humbugs. Less “merry and bright” and more “meh and all right.”

Happily, there’s a cure for the humbugs. It’s not Hallmark movies nor shortbreadn or Mariah Carey’s All I Want For Christmas Is You on repeat — though those things certainly help.

No, nothing gets you out of a holiday funk and into the spirit of the season like helping someone else have a happy holiday.

Of course, Winnipeggers know this. We’ve long been known as a generous people. We give our time and our money to all kinds of causes and organizations, all year along. But at this time of year, the needs of our city come to the fore. The holidays can be unspeakably difficult for people for reasons that go far beyond the humbugs. Anxiety, depression, poverty, grief, addiction, hunger, loneliness — these are all things that bubble to the surface, especially at a time when there’s a lot of pressure to have a holly, jolly holiday.

If you’re looking to rid yourself of the humbugs and make the holidays brighter for someone else, we can help. Here at the Free Press, we are in the midst of the sixth annual Miracle on Mountain fundraising campaign, which collects monetary donations for the Christmas Cheer Board to pay for food and other items packed into hampers. Monetary donations are important as the Cheer Board purchases approximately half of the toys and food that it sends out. Last year, Free Press readers donated more than $77,000. Let’s see if we can’t best that. (See sidebar for how to donate.)

More than 17,000 hampers are being packed up and delivered to families in need by volunteers who are hard at work at ther Cheer Board’s warehouse at 947 St. James Ave. It’s not too late to donate money or time; the organization is still looking for drivers to deliver hampers from now until Dec. 22 (all that’s required is a vehicle and a valid driver’s licence). It only takes about an hour to deliver four or five hampers.

It’s also not too late to sponsor a hamper through the Cheer Board’s Feed-a-Family program, which allows you to see the impact you’ll have directly. Visit christmascheerboard.ca or drop by 947 St. James St. to learn more.

Now, go spread some cheer.

jen.zoratti@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @JenZoratti