 And the 2023 final hamper count is… 250 beautifully decorated fresh food hampers!
Here’s how with your help we pulled off this epic endeavour…
PLOTTING & PLANNING
It was summer when Organizing Elves James van Dam, Paul MacDonald, Dan Doherty, Laura MacDonald, Val Sharp, Lisa Pacquin and Joyce Kline met with Salvation Army High Point Church pastors Josh and Kassie Cain to plan this year’s party. By fall, armed with updated spreadsheets on everything from the Potatoes Per Person Ratio to the Cranberry Sauce Comparison Price Index, the team had mapped out our “investment” strategy.
We knew we’d need sympathetic local businesses to donate, or sell at cost, massive bulk orders of food. The thousands of dollars’ worth of freebies they offered were beyond our wildest expectations! (More on those saintly donors below.) Elf Sally Glover joined the team and signed up even more businesses.
Now Elf Dan could begin mailouts to individuals and, with Elves Paul and Val, update our website and Facebook pages. Food banks across the country may have been short on donations, but Hamper Party people are all heart. They dug deep and gave in record amounts keeping Banker Elf Laura busy as donations from $20-$1,000+ flooded in.
While Elf Joyce planned entertainment, Décor Elf Di Madill went into action. Having already shopped for holiday ribbons and decorations on sale after Christmas, she readied her team for pre-preparing the 250 hamper decorations they’d wire onto fresh cedar boughs on party day.
7-9 pm FRIDAY NIGHT: PREP TIME!
The Elves showed up first, followed by guitarist Ian Johnston and violinist Marjorie Cullerne, who have so joyously entertained us in the past. With Covid restrictions gone, High Point could accommodate more volunteers. Almost 50 eager volunteers listened as Elf Dan laid out the evening’s work plan. Then, to Marjorie and Ian’s Christmas carols and show tunes, everyone dove into prepping supplies for Saturday’s hamper stuffing.
Workers set up tables, posted signage and hauled in and divvied up massive bags of onions, carrots and potatoes, cartons of broccoli, brussels sprouts and oranges, and sacks of perfect backyard apples. You could smell the hundreds of loaves of fresh bread and the coffee being scooped into bags. At smaller tables, bulk tea bags and candies were measured out and tucked into cello gift bags. Cases of cranberry sauce, Christmas cakes, stuffing mix and pies were opened and their contents arranged on tables ready for the next day. With so many thousands of pounds of food it took a while just to open all the cartons! Luckily, Elf Rhona McAdam was on hand, as always, to fuel us all with cookies.
9-11 am SATURDAY: THE PARTY BEGINS!
Things kicked off with a bit of party history from Joyce (over 23 years we’ve filled an astounding 2,716 hampers). Elf Dan then outlined the plan for the day and demonstrated how to properly pack goodies so everything fit into shopping bags without being crushed and it was…ready, set, go!
While Marjorie and Ian entertained at one end of the hall, Elf Di’s décor team worked their way through a veritable mountain of cedar boughs, churning out decorations for finished hampers. Elf Rhona presided over refreshments at the other end. In between, our well-oiled “machine” churned out finished hampers colour coded by family size.
Each hamper held milk, eggs, bread, butter, coffee, tea, carrots, onions, potatoes, broccoli (plus additional brussels sprouts for larger families), oranges or apples, cranberry sauce, stuffing mix, a pie, a Christmas cake, candies, toothpaste samples and a $25 gift card ($50 for large families) for protein of choice, all topped with a sparkly cedar decoration. The largest number of hampers went to needy singles: the elderly, disabled and students. The biggest hamper was for an extended family of 14!
11am-1 pm: HAMPERS GO OUT
As hampers piled up in the hall, volunteer drivers made floorspace, loading up hampers to deliver to people physically unable to pick them up at the church. Outside, the skirl of Piper Elf Josh McDonald’s bagpipes celebrated our progress.
By now, people were arriving to pick up hampers. Marjorie on violin, Ann Schau on keyboard and puppeteer Tim Gosley were once again on hand for entertainment as they signed in upstairs. Many had never had to ask for help before so we wanted the puppetry, live music, cookies, coffee and hot chocolate to create a festive atmosphere. People were unbelievably grateful to receive our help, often overwhelmed by how much beautiful food they were receiving, especially the fresh vegetables. Volunteers also delivered a number of hampers for those having difficulty getting out.
BUSINESS DONORS
We couldn’t have fed so many people without the incredible generosity of the businesses who gave above and beyond this year. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts to the following donors. We hope you’ll patronize these wonderful community supporters:
Cassels Murray Family Law
Coca Cola
Fairway Markets
Fernwood Dental
Irene’s Bakery
Island Eggs
Level Ground Coffee
London Drugs on Yates
Old Farm Market
Peppers Foods
Portofino Bakery
Root Cellar
SaveOn Foods Westside Village
Snowcap Bakery
Thrifty Foods Fairfield
Victory Barber & Brand
Happy holidays to you all. Your generosity truly embodies the spirit of the holiday season.
See you in 2024!
Joyce & Elves James, Paul, Dan, Val, Laura, Lisa and Sally
 The Organizing Elves: Paul, Val, Joshua, Laura, Joyce, James, Lisa, Jenn, Dan (Missing: Di & Sally)    Copyright © 2023 Christmas Hamper Party, All rights reserved.
Our mailing address is: Christmas Hamper Party 305 – 831 Dunsmuir Rd Victoria, BC V9A 5B9 Canada
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The Victoria Christmas Hamper Party 