CHRISTMAS COMES EARLY
Two little ‘elves’ and their mum have created a children’s activities book to entertain kids and assist parents that will also help families in need.
Known as The Little Elves, each year eight-year-old Hayden and 11-year-old Jack collect donated Christmas gifts to give to Queensland kids living in care. Since their first annual collection event in 2017, they’ve given almost 15,000 presents to children in foster care.
Unfortunately, this year the pandemic is preventing the Elves from holding their collection event. So they decided to support families affected by COVID-19. Hayden and Jack are raising money by selling a 111-page booklet to help families stay entertained during lockdown, put together by their mum, ‘Chief Elf’ Kate Armstrong. In the process of finding activities to help her boys stay occupied at home, she decided to collate her findings in a document to share with other families. “It was a practical way of helping while not leaving the house,” she says.
A Book of Helpful Bits contains 158 links to a variety of websites, and features educational activities, games, crafts, virtual excursions and ideas to help with homeschooling and working from home. It also contains plenty of templates calendars, meal planners and chore charts. There are even tips on how to relax, practise mindfulness and look out for your mental health.
“The aim was to try and fill it with as many things as we could, cover as many bases as we could and interests for kids of all ages, for families, for grandparents, for carers, for anyone that needs a little bit of inspiration,” says Armstrong.
A Book of Helpful Bits is available for $6.60 online at Etsy, with all proceeds going to online charity GIVIT. The funds will be used to purchase grocery vouchers to help people struggling amid the pandemic. “GIVIT works with over 3,000 charities around Australia,” says Armstrong. “They’re receiving a lot of requests from the general public for support, so we know that our money will be used to not only purchase the vouchers but they’ll go to who really needs them.”