Christmas treats with the chocolate elves
An initiative to give all children an advent calendar to open is well underway to achieving its target.
The Chocolate Elf aims for all children in Hampshire to have an advent calendar to open in the run-up to Christmas. They also hope to give all children a selection box to open on Christmas Day.
Kelly McAlinden came up with the idea, three years ago, for Northamptonshire. The idea has since spread to all areas of the UK and this year, even reached the far-flung shores of Australia.
The initiative started when Kelly posted on Facebook asking if anyone wanted her to take anything to the food bank in Northampton, as she had a lot of selection boxes. The idea then grew as more and more people got in touch, from not just Northamptonshire, but from across the country. This year, the Chocolate Elf is also in Newmarket, Bury, Eastleigh and Southampton, as well as overseas in Australia.
Lin Bannon Trott, who runs the Hampshire outlet of the Chocolate Elf, said: ‘The tiny thing we do for them is much, much more than just a few bits of chocolate.’
For Lin her most memorable moment about handing out the calendars came last year, when a group of 16–18 year old girls ‘just couldn’t believe’ that people they didn’t know, cared enough to buy them a calendar and selection box.
‘Those girls really felt unworthy because of their backgrounds,’ she said.
And Kelly said her most memorable moment was when ‘someone’s son was in hospital and received both an advent calendar and a selection box, the next year she bought us selection boxes to say thank you for what he received’.
They both said that they were really happy that even children could get involved remarking that their children had given up their advent calendars for the cause.
If you want to get involved, the deadline for selection boxes is on December 7. For more information see the Hampshire Chocolate Elf page on Facebook.
