Kids’ Almanac (Dec. 19-26)

Solstice

Children’s Day & Winter Solstice Celebration, Saturday, December 21, 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Sky Lake Shambhala Meditation Center at 22 Hillcrest Lane in Rosendale. (845) 658-8556, https://skylake.shambhala.org.

“For all children and everyone who has ever been a child! Do you have a song, poem, dance or a favorite joke? You are invited to share at the celebration or join us in the appreciative audience. The Winter King and Queen will be there with a magical story and sweet gifts. We will be gathering wrapped gifts for Family of New Paltz, so children are encouraged to bring a gift if you can. Kindly bring a kid-friendly potluck dish to share. Free and open to all.”

Solstice Ritual and Potluck Lunch, Sunday, December 22, 12:30 to 2 p.m. at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Poughkeepsie at 67 South Randolph Avenue in Poughkeepsie. spiralwebweavers@gmail.com.

Adams Fairacre Farms: Adams hosts Santa at each of its four locations in Kingston, Poughkeepsie, Newburgh and Wappinger on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Times vary according to location, so check the website for accurate schedule information. Not only do we love Poughkeepsie’s fish pond and Kingston’s model train and Santa slide, as well as the groceries and greenhouse, but the free Santa photo is also a real treat, and it’s fine to take your own pictures as well. For locations and more information, visit https://adamsfarms.com.

Hudson Valley Mall: December 19 from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., December 20 and 21 from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., December 22 and 23 from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Christmas Eve from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 1300 Ulster Avenue in Kingston. For more information, visit https://shophudsonvalleymall.com.

Newburgh Mall: Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a .m. to 6 p.m. at 1401 Route 300 in Newburgh. For more information, visit www.newburghmall.com.

Poughkeepsie Galleria: Santa appears in lower Center Court Monday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at 2001 South Road in Poughkeepsie. For more information or to visit the interactive online Santa’s Village activity, visit www.poughkeepsiegalleriamall.com.

PoughkeepsiePlaza: Santa is in the center of the plaza December 14 through 24 from 10 a.m. to closing at 2600 South Road in Poughkeepsie. Santa has a website at https://santasimage.com. For more information, visit www.poughkeepsieplaza.com.

Featured local charity:  Meals on Wheels

For a long time, I simply thought of Meals on Wheels as a gesture of kindness and have always regarded the organization with fond memories. As a child, I used to make occasional deliveries with my grandfather, visiting people’s homes with a hot meal in hand and light conversation. Since my only exposure to this organization was through his weekly volunteer shift, I didn’t realize that the clients received meals every weekday. I could not know that for many of the recipients, this might be their only interaction with another person that day.

And until I attended a recent presentation of Meals on Wheels of Greater Hyde Park to some area homeschooled Juliette Girl Scouts, I had no idea that its meal deliveries can mean the difference for area residents between remaining at home and moving into an assisted living community. From aging seniors to those recovering from injury or illness, Meals on Wheels is an affordable way to ensure that a hot, balanced meal is provided daily to members of the program. The Hyde Park program also offers a sandwich lunch option for those interested in the extra meal, such as over the weekend when there are no dropoffs.

Each Meals on Wheels chapter has its own setup. The Hyde Park organization uses the kitchen at St. James United Methodist Church, employs two people who prepare the meals five days a week, a bookkeeper and something like 70 volunteers to help with meal prep, delivery and fundraising. Meals on Wheels tries to keep the prices as low as possible to accommodate seniors on limited incomes, and with continually rising food costs, it’s an ongoing challenge to make up the difference through donations and fundraising events.

Interested in helping out? Here are three ideas: Your tax-deductible financial contribution to your local Meals on Wheels chapter could be in honor of a loved one, or just a simple gesture to acknowledge the need for this service in our community; your organization, such as Scouts, could make special crafts such as napkin-holders for the meal recipients; and you can support the group’s fundraisers over the course of the year. Your assistance makes a real difference to seniors in our community.

To learn more about Meals on Wheels, visit www.mowaa.org. For more information or to donate to the Hyde Park chapter, call (845) 229-5896 or mail to Meals on Wheels of Greater Hyde Park, Hyde ParkUnitedMethodistChurch, 1 Church Street, Hyde Park, NY12538.

Local animals

Local animal communicator Cindy Brody shares this in a recent blog entry at https://cindybrody.com: “When you adopt it should be a joyous occasion, but unfortunately sometimes the best intentions can fall short, leaving everyone heartbroken. Animal rescues are flooded with pets after the holidays, often because people didn’t realize what a huge responsibility pets can be; they didn’t know that their son Max was allergic to dogs or that a border collie would need so much exercise; they thought they could train their active puppy, but they simply need more tools and they can’t afford a trainer.”

If you know someone with a passion for the outdoors, wildlife or any animals for that matter, here are two family-friendly places to visit with creative ideas for supporting animals locally as a gift during the holidays, to honor someone in the workplace, to celebrate a birthday or simply as a year-end tax deduction.

The Forsyth Nature Center (FNC) in Kingston has a wish tree on-site, as well as a wish list at nearby Lucas Pet Supply – 30 Joys Lane in Kingston, (845) 331-2469, https://lucaspets.com – with suggestions of items that the Center’s animals need, such as water bottles, wood shavings, wild birdseed and heat lamps. For a more permanent way to honor a loved one, consider donating an inscribed permeable paver for $100 at the Center, with up to three lines of writing at 16 characters per line. Paver forms are available as a downloadable PDF at the FNC website at www.forsythnaturecenter.org. A lifetime Friends of Forsyth Nature Center membership is available for $25, with membership forms downloadable from the Friends page. And you can buy ForsythNatureCenter merchandise, including hats, tee-shirts, mugs and more, when Mark-at-the-Park DeDea is there.

The ForsythNatureCenter is located at 157 Lucas Avenue in Kingston. For more information, call (845) 339-3053 or visit https://forsythnaturecenter.org.

Bear MountainState Park’s TrailsideMuseums and Zoo offers an Adopt-an-Animal program with an option to choose your animal, and five levels of giving, ranging from $25 to $250. Donors receive thank-you gifts related to their animals, and funds are used for food, medical care, supplies and maintenance of the animal exhibits and museums.

The Park is located at 55 Hessian Drive in HighlandFalls. For more information, call (845) 786-2701, extension 293, e-mail chris.osullivan@parks.ny.gov or visit www.trailsidezoo.org.

Family-friendly Christmas Eve services submitted by area parents

Tuesday, December 24

New Paltz United MethodistChurch, 4 p.m. and 7 p.m., 1 Grove Street in New Paltz. (845) 255-5210, https://newpaltzumc.org.

New Hackensack Reformed Church, 5 p.m., 1580 Route 376 in WappingersFalls. (845) 462-0810, https://nhrc-church.org.

Our SaviorLutheranChurch, 5 p.m., 1400 Route 52 in Fishkill. (845) 418-OSLC, https://oursaviorlutheran.org.

Grace Church, 7 p.m., 160 Seremma Court in LakeKatrine. (845) 382-2288, www.grace4ulster.org.

Overlook United MethodistChurch, 7 p.m., 233 Tinker Street in Woodstock. (845) 679-6800, www.umcwoodstockny.com.

Milton-Marlboro United MethodistChurch, 7 p.m., 112 Church Street in Milton. (845) 795-2302, www.mm-umc.com.

Old Dutch Church, 7:30 p.m. musical prelude/8 p.m. service, 272 Wall Street in Kingston. (845) 338-6759, https://olddutchchurch.org.

Christ the KingChurch, 7:30 p.m., 2 Eugene Brown Drive in New Paltz. (845) 256-8480, https://newpaltzchurch.com.

St. John’s Episcopal Candlelight Eucharist service, 8 p.m., reception following, child care, 207 Albany Avenue in Kingston. (845) 331-2252, www.stjohnskingston.org.