Recently, the music room at Houlton Elementary School was filled with tables covered in merchandise. Principal Candace Crane doesn’t like to see any of her students go without. So for the last several years with the help of the Parent Teacher Organization, nearly 400 students have been able to bring in a small amount of money and shop for gifts for all the members of their family. Principal Crane and her elves shop all year long to build up the inventory for this exciting time.
It is chaotic at times when one is trying to help little ones age 7 and under, make a decision on what to buy and convince him or her that they are buying something for everyone else in their family and not themselves.
A couple of students bought items for their make-believe brother or sister and picked out something special they will be able to use on Christmas Day.
Parent volunteers, along with Houlton High School students from the Jobs for Maine Grads program, under the direction of Dee Butler, assisted the elementary students with the wrapping. It was a fun-filled day as the students proudly carried the wrapped gifts to their classroom and then onto the bus to put under their tree.
