Children’s Christmas challenge

The Children’s Masks Challenge organized by Lifetime Malta this summer was a huge success and has prompted the launch of a second challenge for Christmas. But first let’s have a little perspective.

In 1936 Paramount Studios issued the classic cartoon “Christmas comes but once a year”. This allegorical tale tells of needy children receiving toys that were old, warn and eventually broke, destroying their initial happiness at getting them. Professor Grumpy then has an idea and makes special toys for them using household paraphernalia. The children are delighted with them and their Christmas is transformed once more.

Whilst this was not the motivation for the new Children’s Christmas Challenge, there are one or two parallels between the film and today’s reality. Many children in Malta are traumatized by being underprivileged and the added stress placed upon them by the pandemic has further added to their desperation and isolation. Their tears at Christmas will be ones of sadness not joy.

The Challenge is quite simple, children aged 7 to 17 are asked to make a toy for a child less fortunate than themselves, accompanied by a short message explaining why they made it and a statement of caring for the recipient child. These will be distributed via the Millennium Chapel to families under their wings. The best of these will be rewarded with exciting prizes donated by Hudson Holdings, Eden Superbowl, Lions Club Sliema and other Lifetime Malta sponsors. So, the Challenge has two goals, firstly to ensure that children in need are shown they are cared about and secondly, to inspire children to develop their sense of social responsibility for those less fortunate than themselves. Appreciating the needs of others is key to them growing up as caring adults.

The terrible truth is that there will be children in our wonderful country this Christmas who will not experience joy to spark wonder in their eyes. As Ms Natalia Lupu, founder of Lifetime Malta says “Bringing a little magic into the lives of some of society’s most deprived children should be the aim of all concerned individuals, while promoting tenderness within children is perhaps the biggest challenge!”

Join now to bring more smiles this Christmas!