Eight-year-old Elion Martinez and his 3-year-old sister Eniya hand-wrote 80 cards and hugged 80 stuffed animals, which they purchased, to give to residents at the Western Nebraska Veterans Home on the Tuesday before Christmas.
Mother Keisha Martinez said they’ve been doing an Advent calendar every year since Elion was born, and it would include different projects and goodies to get in the spirit of Christmas. Usually, they give gifts to friends and family, but this year they decided to do something for the veterans at the veterans home.
“We know that they’re spending the holidays alone because they can’t have visitors,” she said.
“And haven’t had visitors for months,” husband Mike chimed in.
“And we just wanted to do something special,” Keisha, whose mother currently works at the home, said. “This is her little family here. … I used to work here as well, and I know how lonely it gets for those guys on the holidays, and this time they can’t have any visitors.”
They decided to do the project together as a family, but it was Elion’s idea to do more than make Christmas cards.
“We wanted to make it more better,” Elion said. Giving the stuffed animals the hugs was his favorite part. “It was warm.”
Each stuffed animal received a hug to replace the hug they couldn’t give to the veteran.
Keisha said Eniya had fun with the glue and the stickers for the cards.
Other activities the Martinez family would do with the Advent calendar included baking Christmas treats, doing Christmas crafts and making ornaments, but this project was meant to do more than just get in the Christmas spirit.
“We want our kids to learn how to love others and to put others before themselves,” Keisha said. “We are so blessed that God has given us this opportunity to bless others during this difficult Christmas season. (There’s) no better way to spend the holidays than to invest in others. We hope that someday our kids continue on this tradition and share the special love of Jesus with others.”
*Originally published in the Star-Herald on Dec. 24, 2020.
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