Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Samuel Gomez, 8, has some fun with his role at the Lighthouse Mission Christmas party as a dancing wise man in the live nativity scene for passing motorists. The party was Saturday.
CLOVIS - A pandemic-era Christmas may be slightly less jolly for some. But two local entities - the Lighthouse Mission in Clovis and VFW Post 9515 in Portales - are planning on providing the same generous acts of service as they would any other year.
The Lighthouse Mission was able to hold its annual Thanksgiving dinner by drive-through and plans to do the same for a traditional Christmas dinner of ham and stuffing.
"We are going to have a Christmas meal on Christmas Day from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.," said Richard Gomez, the mission's executive director.
Like the Thanksgiving meal, those who would like to pick up a tray of food should drive up into the Lighthouse Mission's parking lot. There, volunteers will take orders for the number of meals per vehicle, and then bring the to-go containers of food. For those unable to drive to pick up food, they can call the Lighthouse Mission and be added to a list of meals to be delivered.
This event follows closely behind a toy giveaway the Lighthouse did last weekend, with cars lined up 10 blocks away at times.
"We had a big ol' long line, blocks of cars," Gomez said.
The non-profit gave gifts to 468 children in less than two hours on Saturday.
In Portales, the VFW Post 9515 plans to offer its annual free Christmas dinner by working within public health restrictions.
The VFW is offering take-out Christmas dinners from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Friday for those who are not able to cook on Christmas for whatever reason.
Organizers ask that those who are interested RSVP with their name and the number of meals they need.
While many Christmas events and festivities are unable to take place, the Centers for Disease Control has come out with guidelines for safe winter holiday activities.
Some of the CDC ideas include:
• Virtual "ugly" sweater contests, or decorating gingerbread houses and doing other crafts virtually with family or friends.
• Taking a drive through your community to look at holiday light displays.
• Making cards or cookies to deliver to family, friends, and neighbors' doorsteps.
• Volunteering with local community service organizations after taking into account their safety precautions.
• Checking Facebook or other sites for virtual religious ceremonies.
• Scheduling a virtual call with Santa Claus at the North Pole, or visiting him in-person while social distancing or taking other precautions.
