Brighten the Holidays for Spaulding Rehab Patients

Thank you to the Spaulding Professionals Council (SPC) for hosting a holiday drive for Spaulding Pediatrics. Many of our families spent the entire month of December in the hospital, missing out on their typical celebrations. Your support helped our staff create a positive holiday experience for patients and families.

You helped provide Christmas presents for 15 patients and siblings, care packages, and a hot Christmas Eve meal for each family. Gifts also enabled us to host weekly theme days for the whole unit. As COVID-19 cases rise again, we can’t gather in groups, but that doesn’t mean we can’t have fun.Here's what the celebrations looked like!

A new tradition was born last year and has been enjoyed by patients, families, and staff alike. Cheers from the Hot Cocoa Cart in our pajamas! Following suit, our Noon Year’s Eve Cart was a big hit, bringing sparkling cider and cupcakes to kids after lunch.

Spaulding Professionals Council contributions also helped us bring the holiday fun to therapy and the playroom. From cards, to ornaments, to gingerbread houses, there was no shortage of creative spirit on display.

There were big smiles on Christmas morning when...

• our sasquatch-loving nine-year-old was gifted Yeti, Set, Go!, a fun-filled game where a yeti moves a meatball up the mountain. 

• one girl received a coloring book of her favorite animal (the bearded dragon), and her brother received a Bruins sweatshirt and tabletop air hockey.

• our two art-loving teenagers received a full set of supplies for drawing and painting to help them continue pursuing their interests from the hospital room.

We are now better equipped to meet the culinary and play explorations of our toddlers and preschoolers with a brand-new kitchen for the playroom.

In addition to the holidays, the gifts we’ve received this season will carry us through birthdays, difficult therapy sessions, medical procedures, and special events for the coming year.

The many clothes, games, Legos, dolls, electronics, arts and crafts, and countless other items help our pediatric team engage our patients, normalize the environment, and reduce the stress of the hospital experience. We can help families by reducing some of the financial burden and emotional stress of having a child in the hospital.

Thank you once again for choosing to support Spaulding Pediatrics with the Spaulding Professionals Council holiday drive. Know that the SPC's contributions will be keeping us merry and bright all year long.

Best Wishes for the New Year!