Picnic Fun with Santa & Friends
You might have heard of Christmas in July, but for our Residents it was – Christmas in August!
Our Lady of the Magnificat Parish in Kinnelon is keeping a 40+ year tradition alive by once again inviting the Little Sisters and Residents from Totowa to an annual indoor picnic on August 14. This year the parishioners chose to treat everyone to a Summertime Christmas. Santa showed up in his beach wear to greet all of the guests and wish them Good Tidings of the Season – just a different season than the one he is used to! In addition to Santa, Monsignor Carroll, who retired in February, was also on hand to welcome our Residents and local area seniors along with the new pastor, Father Steven Shadwell. This was Father’s first time hosting the event, and he did a great job!
The parish volunteers out did themselves as well, not only with the holiday decorations, but with the food too. Cheese and crackers and snacks to start followed by a Christmas turkey dinner with all of the trimmings. Each table was given a platter of homemade Christmas cookies for dessert. After everyone was finished eating, the BINGO game began. All of the gifts were wrapped with Christmas paper and beautifully displayed on tables next to a Christmas tree decorated with handmade ornaments. We are so very grateful to everyone from Our Lady of the Magnificat Parish, and especially to Father Shadwell for continuing the tradition of inviting the Little Sisters and Residents of St. Joseph’s Home to this fabulous event. We wish them all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Holy Smokes! It’s picnic time again!
Another year has flown by and we once again welcomed the Little Sisters and Residents from our Homes in the Bronx, Queens and Philadelphia to the Annual Holy Smokes Picnic held on August 21. The Ragtimers band provided the perfect fun, summertime atmosphere as guests found their seats. Stomachs were rumbling after taking in the delicious smells coming from the grills. There was plenty of help cooking and serving the usual barbeque fare and even after all of the hot dogs, hamburgers and ribs were gone, there was still room for ice cream and watermelon. Guests got up to dance and raffle tickets were given out to all attendees. Lucky winners received a prize bag filled with surprises. The picnic would not have been such a success without the generosity of local businesses who donated hot dogs, pickles and condiments for the meal while others gave snacks, candy and wine for the “goody bags” that each person received as they left the picnic. A great big thank you to everyone who set up the picnic, prepared the food and very patiently served the delicious meal on a very hot day. This has been an enjoyable summer for our Residents, with trips and picnics and good times with friends. We now wait to see what fall will bring!
Summer Picnics