Operation shoebox will help bring Christmas to the needy

With Lourdes Quijada

An old shoe box may not  seem to have much to do with  Christmas giving, but it is has been elevated in Panmama to an  ingenious way of delivering seasonal aid and gifts to the less fortunate in our community.

This weekend, December 10-11, the much loved German hostelry “Restaurant Steinbock” will be the scene of the second annual German Christmas Market in aid of the Catherine Brown Home, which  provides a warm living environment for elderly folks with limited or no financial resources.

The event will include  typical German Christmas booths, crafts and excellent German food but also “The Power Of A Simple Gift”,  and that’s where the shoe box comes in.

Most of us have at least one shoe box stored away in a corner and you are asked to take it out and fill it with shampoo, soap, body lotion, a comb or hair brush, toothpaste, toothbrushes, notebooks, pens, sweets & chocolates and a nice Christmas card with your Christmas wishes.

Then you pack it carefully and wrap it well as a Christmas present. But, say the organizers, don’t include medications or food
Your "shoebox" can be delivered to the German Christmas Market on both days.
The event runs from 12:00 noon to 6:00 pm each day, with a musical bonus added at 3.30 both days by a quartet and at  4.30 on Saturday with songs sung by Fundación Opera Panamá.  Santa Claus will visit both days at four.
So take a break from the shop ‘till you drop seasonal rush and head for The  Restaurant Steinbock on Via Cincuentenario in San Francisco … and don’t forget your wrapped shoebox.