Making Wooden Christmas Toys

I’M CALLED A WHAT?
Some of the fondest memories and joys
Are of constructing wooden Christmas toys.
“Open Your Heart” programs, I remember,
Sponsored year after year in December.
The American Legion sponsored the program.
I was behind schedule and in a jam.
The homemade toys may not be on the shelf.

OPEN YOUR HEART AND GIVE
I enlisted some help from volunteers,
Talking fast, like a fast-talking auctioneer.
The lumberyards saved leftover wood blocks.
A shop teacher sawed those donated stocks.
We assembled for kids down on their luck.
We made wooden cradles, mixers, and trucks.
Needing some paint, I was beside myself.
If only the North Pole would lend me an elf!

A COMMUNITY CHRISTMAS PROGRAM
Some patients, out on pass, put on the paint;
They hustled, stirred, and brushed without complaint.
And soon there were a hundred homemade toys
To brighten the season for girls and boys.
My kids went to school next day, and did say,
“Dad’s making wooden toys for Christmas Day.”
But, this time the last laugh was on myself,
When they told their class, “Must be an elf!”

(Bismarck, ND, American Legion Post)
© 1993, Orv Alveshere, Fargo, ND