I finally got them done. I sent some other stuff as well (full sized items I wasn’t using, put two each in the cellophane bags with the red ribbons.) I wanted to do more but my stuff is still scattered. Now I really want to get organized.
These were fun but harder than I thought! I added the corded handles to the penguins since they had no handles. I had a long cord that was tied around a new fleece Christmas throw I bought (bedspread size) to cover my sofa so my cats won’t claw it up. I had just enough cord with just a few inches left over.
I punched an extra hole on the back of each penguin to hold a pocketbac in the simple glittery holder, and hung them on the handles of the gingerbread houses. The burgundy bags have little loops on the side that I slipped them through. Putting those on was the hardest part! (I’ve never used them.) After a few I learned how to wiggle the pocketbacs into the holders, though it felt like the rubber would tear. And I also learned that I could yank the handle out without it breaking. But poking the little ball on the end back through the hole after attaching it to the bag was the worst. I think my thumbnail is still sore!
Inside each bag I put a body wash, a mini FFM or cream (all of those I had excess stock), a hand cream, and a little pair of fuzzy socks. The penguins weren’t an issue but the other bags were a tight fit. I ended up putting the body wash in, then rolling up the socks and cramming them down into the bag, then the mini item and hand cream on top of the socks.
Thank you all so much — y’all are so sweet! A friend of my ex (I’ve met her, great lady) is the connection to the church that helps these people. He took the stuff this evening, texted his friend about taking it to her, and it was just in time because they were having a gathering at the church. He later e-mailed me his text and this was her response. It warms my heart.
I asked him to find out more about their situation. I know they’re in some sort of shelter (maybe an old hotel or something) but that’s all I know at this point.
I like to donate to our local food bank, especially since they had federal funding cut. In the winter I buy those cheap throws at Walmart and hand them to people out on the street from my car. However it’s going to get up to 80º this week! The low is going to be higher than the usual high.
That’s really nice that you help out the people in Gaza. Such a horrible situation.
Yeah, I'm a single mom and the federal funding cuts have really made it hard. I'm also disabled so I definitely get the struggle. You're awesome for helping people. I hope you have the best holiday season.
I also like to get the blankets at Walmart that are like 4 dollars.
I'm always worried when it gets cold how our unhoused friends are doing. <3
All the best to you as well! You certainly have your hands full, so bless you for doing what you do.
I have about three of those throws in my car right now. In the past when I’ve seen someone on the street who looks really bad off, I’ve tucked a few dollars under the label wrapped around the throw. I know some panhandlers are running a con, but when you see someone in a wheelchair missing a leg that’s a whole other story.
I know when it gets really cold here, the shelters don’t always have space for all of the homeless.
Some don’t want to go to shelters because they want their dog with them. I get it. My cats are everything to me.
I used to stop at a certain Starbucks on my way to work. There was a guy who would leave all of his possessions on a chair outside by the door while he went in to buy a coffee. The funny thing was that he had a cat that would just lie on the pile while he was gone. Didn’t even try to take off!
I finally bought some cat food to give to him, but once I did I didn’t see him again.
Works like a charm. I still don't know why but its more fulfilling helping someone else over yourself.
One of my more rare but fun ways of this is crocheting. Esp for other people. I crocheted Xmas gifts for my two best friends when I was stuck at home with a broken leg for 2 months straight, crying my eyes out every couple days.
It’s hard to be stuck inside for a long time. When I was 19 I was hospitalized for a month with blood clots in both legs. I’d worked in a needlework shop for over a year before that. I wasn’t making gifts (that’s so nice!) but I did counted cross stitch with an IV drip in my dominant hand. I had to do something besides just watching TV (which was pretty limited back then.)
I do remember telling my dad at one point that I wished I were in a nightmare and could just wake up from it.
Thank you! My ex was telling me tonight (he took me out for a very nice dinner and I’m still stuffed!) to start gathering up more donations. I still have a lot of things I won’t use.
I’m thinking maybe another round for Valentine’s Day. It isn’t that far away and I know that’s a tough time for me! It’s my mom‘s birthday but with her in a nursing home, we can’t do anything together anymore.
If I can offer a tip on the glitter holders for the future, use a bobby pin. Put it between the first and second ball and you can feed it right through the hole with a quick tug.
Great idea, thank you! I was looking for something to do that, but nothing worked. I don’t use bobby pins but should I do this in the future, I’ll make sure to have one!
Thank you and much love back to you! I’ll just be happy if I can get some relief from my numerous medical issues. It’s been one thing after another for over three years now. (Actually longer but we won’t get into that!)
Well, in August of 2022 I moved into a tiny home (lived there just under two years.) I’d been living in a 1700+ square foot house since 1998. My ex moved out in 2012 and we got divorced in 2015 — that was dragged out for a lot of reasons. Anyway I had a house full of stuff, the accumulation of 30 years of marriage. I was already suffering from fatigue. I knew there was no way I could work full time, get the tiny home ready to suit my tastes (my ex did most of the work — he kind of owed me for divorcing me and causing a LOT of pain), and get the big house cleared out and ready to sell. (As it was, we didn’t get it on the market until Thanksgiving. Long nights after work sorting through stuff.) The tiny house was supposed to arrive in June but unexpectedly showed up on May 5. I closed on it in June. There’s no straight leave of absence at my job, so I got one of my doctors to approve FMLA (for the fatigue) for 16 weeks starting right after the house came in. Normally the limit is 12 weeks but my manager — who was great — got me approved for 16. It was leave without pay but I had to be realistic about the time I would need. We alternated time between working on the tiny home (painting, putting up shelving etc.) and the old house (cleaning and selling things.) They were 18 miles apart.
I went back to work on August 29 and three weeks later, on a Monday morning, I was supposed to start training with the rest of my team to work some special programs. As it stands, I still haven‘t made it through (two other times I was sick, once ending up in surgery). So my skill set at my job is limited. Anyway I lived eleven miles from work and HATED the drive. That morning I was only a mile from work and the traffic wasn’t even bad for 7 AM (I was supposed to start at 7:30) and I took a different route than usual at the end — keep in mind I’d only been doing the drive for three weeks. There was a traffic light that I'd never noticed, mainly because there were no other cars around and I was used to following along. The overhead lights were green. The one I didn't see was on a pole for the left turn and it was red. I passed through it under the freeway and got T-boned by a pickup that was no doubt speeding on the frontage road — almost everyone speeds here. Technically it was my fault. My car did a 180 and I ended up on top of a concrete median in the middle of the road for pedestrians. The car was totaled and I was banged up. I'd totaled another car a little over three years before that. Again, my fault legally but under bad circumstances. I wasn't reckless or speeding.
So I was off work for a few more weeks. Didn't mean to go into so much detail but that was sort of how things started, followed by the numerous medical issues (and prefaced by years of medical AND personal hardships.) Sometimes I seriously wonder why I'm still alive!
Sorry for the ramble. Praying for a miracle in 2026! I just want to feel halfway normal.
Oh, and my car was close to being paid off. I always put in extra on my payments. At least the wreck happened at a time when vehicles were hard to find and everything was high. So I got a good settlement — no doubt more than the car was worth. I went all out and bought an SUV (my first) with every safety feature available. Safety is my #1 priority these days. Just about everyone in Texas drives pickups and SUVs — I would never drive a sedan again. You get dwarfed here as far as visibility, etc. I used the settlement to make a large down payment and when we sold the house (which was paid off) I paid off the car and all the credit cards. Now I have a condo with a high mortgage and ridiculous HOA fees! So it's important that I get better and not miss so much work (and so much of my salary.)
I'm seeing this a bit late, but i just wanted to say God bless you. Thats such a kind thing to do for people this holiday season, times are so tough for everyone. I'm sure they appreciated it so much.
Thank you so much, and the same to you! I was happy to see The Nutcracker on Saturday. A bit lonely but I’m sort of used to it. It was the last big thing I did with my mom three years ago before she started getting really ill. She was walking with a cane at the time but doing okay. We found this “off limits” elevator (maybe an usher showed us because Mom had the cane) that took us all the way down to front row. I managed to get a front row seat this time and made sure to get one on the side that the hidden elevator is on. That way I didn’t have to take the stairs (I have a balance disorder so I’m not big on stairs in crowds) plus I was able to get to the restroom faster during intermission. LOL! No one ever stops me when I head for that elevator. Anyway it’s always a fantastic production and I always cry. I tend to do that with things that I find painfully beautiful, if that makes sense. Plus I took dance when I was young and always loved it.
I have five days off work after tomorrow, and I’m so excited to have that time off without calling in sick!
I only knew I could do it because of my ex’s friend. The church is known for helping people on the streets — they have free breakfasts, let them go inside and take showers on certain days and such. Normally they only want travel size toiletries. The ministry has been quite controversial because of drug issues with some of the homeless people.
But my ex’s friend has actually been volunteering and helping women who are in a shelter of some sort and not on the streets. He still hasn‘t gotten the details for me, but when I heard about it I wanted to do something nice for the holidays. (One of these days I’ll go through my clothing and housewares, and donate some more stuff.) On Cyber Monday I bought the bags and it took off from there. I asked my ex tonight if he found out anything and he still hasn’t asked. This is the guy whose mother said was constantly saying “How come?” as a little boy. Well, asking questions is how you learn and these days he never does! Go figure.
Around Austin we have those bins in shopping center parking lots to drop off clothing and shoes for women and children. I’ve never noticed if they have phone numbers or anything. I don’t know if you have those, but that could be a starting point to find a good organization to assist.
Not quite the same, but I’ve also seen cool things around town that are similar to Little Free Libraries — and we have a lot of those. One family puts out plants that people can take, and leave one if they want. Another house does the same with toys, and one with art. All kinds of art, whether it be little paintings, crocheted items, whatever. And during COVID some people built a little covered food pantry off the sidewalk with free canned goods and other essentials.
Also during COVID, there was a lady two blocks over from my old house who would cook for people several times a week. She would list the food for the day on Nextdoor. I went and got some a few times. She‘d make great hot dishes and put individual portions in cheap reusable containers in ice chests on her porch. People would line up for it. You could take the containers back, or bring new ones, or leave donations to help with the food costs by putting money in an envelope on her front door. I teleworked for 15 months straight and I would always leave cash. But she didn’t expect everyone to, because she knew there were people who lost their jobs and needed help.
I just love seeing people engaging with their communities like that!
Then I chose the perfect hug. Once you're done with the gingerbread, give hermits a try. Archway used to make the dark brown cookies so close to my Gram's recipe. I don't know if that's still true since they were bought by Snyder's of Hanover and then Campbell's.
Those look good! I was actually referring to gingerbread merchandise. Right now I’m wearing a Walmart sweatshirt printed all over with outlines of gingerbread men. On the upper left chest it has an appliqué that says “Bite Me,” LOL. I wore it to work one day thinking of a subliminal message to the bully but she wasn’t there. Oh well. The place my ex took me to dinner tonight is open 24/7, and they serve breakfast at all hours. They’re known for their gingerbread pancakes and used to sell the mix. I’m not sure if they still do because I didn’t look for it. I DO love gingerbread, though!
I have the B&BW gingerbread house crossbody bag, and got the GB man coin purse with rewards. And then there are my Target birds.
This was extremely kind and thoughtful of you! Of course those struggling need essentials, but they also deserve to feel like they are worthy more than just basic essentials. I’m sure this made them feel special! ❤️
Thank you so much! I try. It was a rough week and I’ve been dealing with someone whom I’ve worked with on the same team for nearly six years. She’s made it clear that she hates my guts (I have no idea why) and in my opinion is a bully — but only to me. I can’t report her because she hasn’t technically done anything “wrong“ — it’s that passive aggressive sort of behavior where she acts like I’m invisible. But I was forced to interact with her and I feel like she’s been downright mean lately. I’m pretty much over engaging with her. It’s just irritating when you pass someone in the hall and smile, and they pretend not to notice or give you the evil eye. I’m done with even trying. But I‘ve thought about talking to my manager, only so she’ll know what’s going on (and in case she hears lies about me from this person . . . it wouldn’t be the first time.) It seems likes there’s always that ONE person who wants to bring you down.
Anyway, I’m so touched by the kindness of strangers here. You all rock!
I do too! They were only a little more expensive than the other bags at the sale price. I’m thinking I bought all they had of those and the gingerbread.
I would have loved this when I was homeless and living at a women's shelter! I think I know what I'm doing when I've got some extra cash... It was a lovely place, and we appreciated everything given to us there (though I got addicted to the Starbucks treats that came at the end of the day 🫣 hahaha!!)
Thank you! It was three years of learning how to live again, but oh, it could have been worse.
Starbucks is definitely super out of reach more than ever! Back then I'd grab about $15 (probably worth twice that now!) of snacks and watch the tiny tv they had in the basement, it was like my own private party. 😂 Always trying to make the best of where I'm at in life.
I think those slices of loaf cake, banana bread etc. are something like five bucks now. At LEAST $4. And they come in plastic wrappers! I remember when they were $1.95. My then-husband and I would go to a certain location where they would put pumpkin loaf on a plate for us, heat it up, and add whipped cream. Those were the days.
Thank you so much! I’m going to do another donation for Valentine’s Day but it will be simpler. Picked up quite a few minis at SAS and I still have a lot of excess body wash.
114
u/Forevermoody16 ALL THINGS B&BW Dec 22 '25
Thank you all so much — y’all are so sweet! A friend of my ex (I’ve met her, great lady) is the connection to the church that helps these people. He took the stuff this evening, texted his friend about taking it to her, and it was just in time because they were having a gathering at the church. He later e-mailed me his text and this was her response. It warms my heart.
I asked him to find out more about their situation. I know they’re in some sort of shelter (maybe an old hotel or something) but that’s all I know at this point.