Every December, Healdsburg hums with a familiar ritual. Gift lists are drafted and revised, ribbons and receipts gather in quiet corners, and shop windows glow with their annual optimism. In many homes, the holidays unfold as a gentle choreography of giving - a season measured in the quiet rhythm of wrapping paper and anticipation.

Photo credit: Sonoma Magazine, www.sonomamag.com

But for some, the ritual is interrupted. The lists go unfulfilled. The wish, however small, remains only that - a wish. Here at CraftWork, we’ve long believed that community is not a noun but a verb - something you do. Each winter, through The Presents Project, we “adopt” a local family whose holiday, without a bit of help, might pass without the small, dignified gestures that make this time of year what it is. This week, we received the names of our family: five people, five sets of hopes and practical needs that, when read together, feel like a snapshot of an ordinary life.

There’s Samuel, 51, who asks for work boots and a rain jacket - tools, in their way, of endurance. Marcelina, 52, who would like a blender, walking shoes, and a bedspread for her bed. Their daughters: Areli, 20, who hopes for makeup, a saucepan, and a black fur jacket; Kimberly, 11, who dreams of a soccer ball, a Barbie, and a kit for making friendship bracelets; and Keri, 5, who wants coloring books, Bluey tennis shoes, and a scooter.

The list reads plainly, without embellishment, but between the lines there’s tenderness - the kind that makes you pause. A bedspread. Socks. A Barbie. These are small requests that speak to comfort, care, and belonging - things that, in a well-lived life, no one should have to wish for. So, we’ll do what we can. Over the next few weeks, we here at CraftWork will collect gifts, wrap them, and gather for our final happy hour of the year on December 11th. There will be laughter, ribbons, tape that won’t cooperate, and the quiet satisfaction of wrapping something for someone we’ve never met. On December 13th, the gifts will be delivered to Fitch Mountain Elementary, ready to find their way home.

Participation is simple - choose a gift, label it clearly, and leave it with Kayla. Before purchasing a gift, please check in with us to see if it has already been fulfilled - the list will be up on the black closet door by Kayla’s desk. If it hasn’t, then it’s all yours to bring joy to our family. This December, we’ll give what’s asked for - and maybe a little more. A small act, yes, but one that, in its way, restores the season to what it’s meant to be: not a performance of giving, but a practice of kindness.

How to Participate:

Check in with Kyla to see if the gift has already been purchased.
Buy the gift and leave it with Kayla.
Join us at the final happy hour on December 11th to wrap the gifts together.

After that, we’ll take care of delivering them to their next stop, ready to bring joy to our adopted family.

The Presents Project: A CraftWork Tradition!