Celebrating the Holidays at Lehigh Valley Reilly Children’s Hospital

The hospital is not where anyone should be spending the holiday season, especially children. Unfortunately, some kids had to, but Lehigh Valley Reilly Children’s Hospital made sure its pediatric patients didn’t have to miss out on the fun.

Throughout the month of December, the Children’s Hospital found new ways to make the holidays special for its patients and their families. This included a very special visit from Santa, who made the trek down from the North Pole for the day. With a bag full of presents, Santa went from room to room, delivering toys to kids being treated at Lehigh Valley Reilly Children’s Hospital’s pediatric intensive care unit (PICU), inpatient pediatric unit, neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and Children’s Cancer and Multipurpose Infusion Center.

The Children’s Hospital also held a holiday gift shop. Hosted by the child life department, parents and caregivers of children currently admitted in the Children’s Hospital were encouraged to pick out gifts for every child in their family, including those not currently in the hospital – free of charge. Child life staff and volunteers have been organizing the event and providing donated toys since 2012. This year, over 600 gifts were wrapped and bagged for the holidays.

“Trying to find the time or desire to shop for presents during the holiday season when your child is in the hospital is difficult. With our holiday gift shop, we bring the shopping to them,” says Vanessa Gramm, Director, Child Life Department, Lehigh Valley Reilly Children’s Hospital. “This year, we were able to help 58 families find toys and other gifts. Because of the gift shop, 125 children had something to unwrap and that’s what this season is all about.”

The Children’s Hospital made sure its youngest patients didn’t miss out on the fun. Donning red and white hats, the mother-baby unit’s staff made sure its tiniest patients were able to celebrate their first Christmas in style.

From monetary gifts to handmade blankets to Squishmallows, the community’s generosity made sure the Children’s Hospital’s patients, families and staff felt the spirit this giving season as well. Each and every donation was much appreciated and played a part in turning a hospital holiday into an unforgettable holiday season.