History
The History of Operation Ho, Ho, Ho…
As many of you know and some of you are about to find out, every year at this wonderful time of year we collect Christmas Gifts for the Ronald McDonald house and bring them down the RM House in Long Branch on Christmas Eve to help out our good friend Mr. Claus bring cheer to those who need it.
We started this tradition in 1997 when I was behind the reigns of a team of lawn mowers instead of a team of reindeer at Hansch Landscaping. Through the years this tradition has grown and taken on many different forms and many different elves have joined along the way. The amazing thing was that this tradition didn’t stop the year I spent Christmas in a warmer spot south of the border on the beaches of Australia. Instead the elves plowed through and ensured the gifts were delivered to the Ronald McDonald house on schedule!!
I know this time of year you are busy buying presents for friends and loved ones, donating to various charities and busy trying to get everything done before the year’s end. These are all amazing things and we want to encourage you not get wrapped up in the idea of buying presents, but instead the smile that an unexpected gift can bring. It’s amazing how we can become so consumed by the little things in life that we forget what it’s all about, we forget about the bigger picture and what really makes us enjoy life.
We have had the most success with Operation Ho Ho Ho by encouraging our family, friends and organizations that we’re part of that host holiday parties to ask their guests to bring an unwrapped present instead of a bottle of wine or trinket for the host. We have found that people always want to show their appreciation to their host with a present, though many times these presents go into a closet and collect dust. Instead, by asking for an unwrapped gift for Operation Ho Ho Ho – we can collect these gifts and bring a smile to a child’s face who really needs and appreciates it!
We have also expanded to working with many local businesses who hold toy drives during the holidays and we help them promote these efforts with creating signs, videos and a bunch of other social media initiatives to get the word out to share the smiles! We collect gifts right up until Christmas Eve and this helps us collect those last minute stragglers that some of the larger toy drives can’t accommodate!
The toys we collect are brought to the Ronald McDonald House of Long Branch, NJ on Christmas Eve. The Ronald McDonald House is a wonderful charity which aids children’s families when they have a sick child in the hospital. (For more info on the Ronald McDonald House, please click here.). In addition, the Ronald McDonald House works with its sister location and many local charities to make sure all of the gifts find a home where they are truly needed. Every year when we unload the sleigh, I’m truly amazed at the hospitality and genuine feeling that the staff of the Ronald McDonald House purvey.
So, go out and donate a gift to someone that is not expecting it, whether it is through our gift drive for the Ronald McDonald House or any one of the other amazing charities….
If you would like to participate with our toy drive, there’s a bunch of different ways that you can. No matter where you’re located, we have a specially trained team of elves on the job to collect the gifts. Here’s a list of some of the organizations that help us each year.
So, if you would like to join us in spreading the magic of Santa Claus, please visit our participation page by clicking here or shoot us an email. Thank you for considering this very worthy cause, because, as we all know, the joy of the season really comes from what we can share with others!
If you want to get more involved and want me to print you out some signs or you have any other ideas, please let me know – the more the better!!!
Hope you’re all having a great day and getting into the Christmas spirit! If you have any questions, just let me know…
Giddyup
Operation hohoho FAQ’s
Get you organization involved
We work organizations including our local Fire Departments, Girl Scouts, Rotary, and many more to help them participate with Operation HoHoHo. This provides a great way for people to get involved and help out the kids at the Ronald McDonald House. We can create custom flyers and videos for your organization to encourage your members to get involved and spread the word!
Does you Business want to become an Operation HoHoHo Drop Off Point
We work with a lot of local businesses to help them get involved with Operation HoHoHo. We provide them with the flyers and videos that they can use to encourage both their staff and their customers to donate a toy for Operation HoHoHo. We can customize the Operation HoHoHo flyers and videos to highlight your organization and work with you to create a custom email that you can send out. Shoot us and email and we’ll be glad to work you to come up with some ideas on how we can help create some magic!!
Having a Holiday Party and you would like to collect toys for Operation HoHoHo
This is one of the biggest ways that we collect toys for Operation HoHoHo! We suggest adding a little note in your holiday invite that you’ll be collecting toys for Operation HoHoHo to help share the smiles on Christmas morning with the kids staying at the Ronald McDonald House. We’ll be glad to stop by after your holiday party to pick up the gifts and we’ll be sure to send you photos of Operation HoHoHo that you’ll be able to share with your guests!