This post is sponsored by Aflac. I was compensated for writing it, but all opinions are 100% mine.
Every year around Christmastime I look to see if there’s a family in need, a cause to give to or a shelter to help out, because I know lots of people go without a lot of things most of the year; but, Christmastime is a time of year when no one should be without. Earlier this month I received the BEST email, presenting me with the opportunity to work with Aflac to help a family in need. Aflac understands that the ripple effect of financial burden, caused by an unplanned health event, can be especially compounded around the holidays, which was the inspiration behind the #AflacHolidayHelpers program. So when I received an email and was presented with the opportunity to fill someone’s fridge, decorate their home for Christmas and give them the best Christmas ever, I can’t even tell you how ecstatic I was!!!
The family
A good friend of mine from church had recently told me that her sister-in-law had gone into labor at 29 weeks and was rushed down to the local children’s hospital. Because her water had broken in the process of labor, but the baby hadn’t been born, she was required to stay in the hospital, leaving her out of work. During her stay, her husband lost his job and their baby shower got cancelled, leaving them with nothing for the baby and in a financial bind.
I knew without a doubt this was the family I wanted to help. The opportunity to bless them with an amazing Christmas, and provide everything they needed for the baby, sounded like a dream come true!
The strategy
There was a lot of shopping to be done so my friend and I teamed up and tackled the task together.
- Goal #1 – provide the family with a full fridge and lots of pre-made meals, because no new parents have time to make dinner.
- Goal #2 – provide them with everything they needed for their new baby boy: lots of diapers, clothes, toys, bedding, etc.
- Goal #3 – decorate the house for Christmas so it will look welcoming and magical when they return home.
- Goal #4 – spoil the new mommy and daddy with the best Christmas ever!
- Goal #5 – provide them with gift cards to help cover groceries, gas for their cars, etc. until they can get back on their feet.
By the end of the day my car was packed full of Christmas presents, goodies for the baby and food for the new parents! And we had SO much fun shopping for this much deserving new family!
The before
They have a super cute apartment, with beautiful hardwood floors but the living room needed a little sprucing up and the Christmas tree needed a little accessorizing. (These pictures were taken after we unloaded all our bags from shopping.)
The reveal
Their couches were a little outdated so we covered them with large blankets and sprinkled them with new pillows that matched their drapes. We also decorated their tree with fun ornaments, gift cards for groceries, gas and a family outing, along with toys for the dog and a reindeer and elf socks for their new little one.
They live in a 2-story apartment, so on their wish list was a place to change the baby’s diapers, and a place for him to rest downstairs. To meet this need, we set up a pack-n-play, which is awesome, but took longer for us to put together than the crib! And of course we had to accessorize it with a Santa Suite for the baby. 🙂
I didn’t get a “before” picture of the baby’s room but before we got there they referred to it as the “storage room” because it was filled with office supplies, boxes and lots of other random things. Not a single thing in the room was for the baby. But when we got done with it, the room had storage, a crib, a new rug, LOTS of diapers – and they were speechless!
This family is so deserving, they are adorable, their new baby is so tiny and precious. My friend and I had SO much fun blessing them with a beautiful Christmas and a new baby’s room! They were speechless during most of the reveal but I know it meant so much to them to receive all these things, on behalf of Aflac, that they never could have imagined during such a difficult financial time in their lives.
The dog was pretty excited about her new toy too. 🙂
And, of course, we had to put the Santa hat on the little guy!
I am so incredibly thankful that I got to take part in the #AflacHolidayHelpers campaign and I’m pretty sure this will be my favorite Christmas post of all time!
In the United States, Aflac is a leader in voluntary insurance sales at the work site. Aflac knows that major medical insurance may not cover every expense related to a serious health event, so supplemental insurance from Aflac is there to help fill in the holes.
Aflac herein means American Family Life Assurance Company of Columbus and American Family Life Assurance Company of New York.
Z161385A 12/23/16
Beautiful job, my friend.
How wonderful that family is so blessed! Great job ladies and Aflac!
What a wonderful blessing for the sweet family and you and your friend. I’m now a big Aflac.