Spirit of holidays brings out the kid in all of us

After a while, the letters all read the same – and we don’t say that as a criticism as much as a sad acknowledgment that the need – in the early part of the 21st century – is as great as it ever was.Each individual case has its own unique stamp, of course. For some families, life’s necessities absorb all the available income, which makes the risk of Christmas being just like any other day of the year very real.For others, the prospects aren’t even that good. Christmas may be just another day of the year to them, too, but even on that day, life’s necessities somehow manage to elude them.Think back to your own childhood, and how the people in your lives strove to make your Christmas season special. Perhaps your family wasn’t especially affluent, but on the morning of Dec. 25, there was something magical under the tree. Perhaps it was the toy you’d wanted all year – or the latest Beatles album – or a nice pair of boots, a shirt or something else.Whatever it was, it represented not only a fair amount of work on the part of the people in your lives, but a fair amount of fortune, too.Many of the people who write letters to Item Santa work hard. They really struggle to provide for the children in their lives. What they lack is fortune – that little extra that can make the difference between the ordinary at this time of the year and the type of magic that makes lasting memories.Whatever your reasons for the season, it’s safe to say that there’s a little kid in all of us that seeks to recapture that magic every December. We pass it down to our children so that they, in turn, can pass it down to theirs. Long after our children have grown, we still decorate our houses, listen to Christmas carols – anything that’ll bring that magic of childhood back, even if for only a short while.The Item Santa is the fortune for some people. He can often make the difference between ordinary and magical. For the better part of 60 years, the Item Santa has looked out for the people in the area for whom fortune has gone elsewhere.However, Item Santa needs your help before he can do anything. There’s still time. Christmas is still nine days away. That gives people who would like to make a donation plenty of time to contribute so that someone’s Christmas will be as magical as our own holidays were so many years ago.Someday, maybe 20 or 30 years from now, your donation will spur someone whose Christmas would otherwise be ordinary to carry on a tradition through the ages. Perhaps someday, some mother who never got to experience the magic before will tell her children all about it, and implore them to pass it on.To make a donation to Item Santa, clip the coupon in today’s Item or download one and mail it, along with your check, to The Item Salvation Army Santa, P.O. Box 951, Lynn, MA 01903.For more information, call the Salvation Army at 781-598-0673.