While some kids will have to spend Christmas hospitalized, those staying at Children’s National will at least get some presents and holiday cheer, thanks to a special toy shop within the hospital.
For the last few days, Dr. Bear’s Holiday Toy Shoppe was open for families of children staying in the hospital on Christmas. All toys in the shop were made possible by donations to the hospital.
“Hospitalization is hard as we know it and kids deserve to have the magic of the holidays even when they’re here,” said Allie Slocum, the patient family library and resource coordinator at Children’s National.
Families picked out presents for their children in the shop located in a room at the hospital. Parents could then deliver the gifts to their kids, in their rooms.
“The kids get so excited, and you can hear cheers in the hallways sometimes and then all of a sudden, you’ll hear all of the light-up toys and sound toys go off,” Slocum said.
Malik Majors said her son could not leave the hospital for the holiday but now has had several presents to give him a taste of holiday joy during his stay.
“I’ve gotten him a helicopter, a teddy bear, a few game boards,” she said. “Definitely will put a smile on his face for sure.”
A day before Christmas Eve, President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden paid the kids at the Children’s National a visit. During the visit, the first lady read “The Snowy Day” by Ezra Jack Keats to a group of kids sitting in a festive holiday scene that included at least three Christmas trees.
75+ years of tradition never gets old. Thank you @POTUS and @FLOTUS for joining us for another special holiday celebration! ❤️#HolidaysAtChildrens pic.twitter.com/hFxhlX0YDi
— Children’s National Hospital 🏥 (@ChildrensNatl) December 24, 2022
