‘A Holiday Story’ for Families Facing Hunger
Danny Schlag
The perfect gift this season might start with having enough food on the table.
For a lot of us, one of the best parts of the season is watching the same beloved holiday movies over and over again. For me, I remember growing up watching “A Christmas Story” every year, ever since it started playing as a 24-hour marathon on television during Christmas Eve. Ever since, putting it on the TV throughout the day has become a sort of holiday tradition at our household.
For those of you who haven’t seen it, “A Christmas Story” tells the tale of a young Ralphie as he tries to convince his parents, teacher, Santa Claus and anyone else who will listen that a Red Ryder BB gun is the perfect Christmas gift. Whether it was “Oh, fuuuudge,” Ralphie’s exchange with a shopping mall Santa or the countless adults parroting the phrase, “You’ll shoot your eye out, kid” — there are so many favorite scenes.
Last year, my wife and I had our first baby. He’s now 18 months old, and I can’t get over how much he’s developed recently. Christmas this year is particularly exciting, as it’s the first one where he is really aware of everything that is going on. He just loves looking at the lights on the tree and around the neighborhood, and he makes us laugh every time he points to us and asks, “Mele?” This is his way of telling us he wants to listen to Christmas music and show us his sweet dance moves.
We recently pulled up “A Christmas Story” the other weekend, and I’m now watching the movie with a whole new perspective.
As a new dad, I realized that something entirely different stands out to me about this holiday classic. It’s not the silly one-liners or outrageous twists and turns; rather, it’s one very specific part of a very important scene.
It’s the scene when Ralphie finally receives his long-awaited Red Ryder BB gun. I used to watch this scene through an entirely different lens. The kid in me always related to Ralphie’s joy and excitement. But now, what resonates the most isn’t Ralphie at all; rather, it’s the look on Ralphie’s dad’s face. It’s the look when he finally surprises his son with that perfect gift. It’s an incomparable look of contentment and joy — knowing he fulfilled his son’s biggest wish.
That’s something I think all parents can relate to: the feeling of wanting to give your children anything they ever wanted and to provide them with everything they will ever need.
The feeling of wanting to give your children anything they ever wanted and to provide them with everything they will ever need.
Working at Hawai‘i Foodbank, I can’t help but think of the thousands of Hawai‘i families who continue to struggle with hunger this time of year. This includes 1 in 4 keiki, and, for their parents, the perfect gift starts with having enough food on the table for their entire family to eat. Giving their children everything they will ever need begins with providing them with enough food to grow and thrive today.
And that’s what your support does. On behalf of Hawai‘i Foodbank and the families we serve, I wanted to take a moment this holiday season to express our gratitude for you. Your investments in Hawai‘i Foodbank’s mission helped us distribute food for nearly 15 million meals this last year. In doing so, you’re not only providing the important gift of nourishment, but you’re also helping families rewrite their own holiday story this year with much-deserved dignity and hope.
