With the Halloween costumes barely put away and only a few inches of snow on the ground it might seem early to think about Christmas, but that’s not the case, said Operation Family Christmas volunteer Jes Rodne.

“Last year 140 kids received gifts through the program,” said Rodne.

Operation Family Christmas was established to assist parents or guardians who may not be able to buy Christmas presents for their children.

“The program is open to parents or legal guardians who have children ages 0-18 that have struggled financially and need a little help during the holiday season,” Rodne said.

In cases of divorce, both mother and father can pick up applications.

Applications will be available on November 6 at the Senior Center, Cook County Sheriff ’s Office, Grand Portage Human Services, Violence Prevention Office, and with Anna Sandstrom at Cook County schools.

“All of the applications need to be turned in by November 24, at 4 p.m.” said Rodne, adding that they can be turned in at the same location where they were picked up.

“We don’t accept any late applications,” she added.

When it comes time to pick out a present to donate, Rodne explained, “The way this works is throughout the county (including the Senior Center) there will be Christmas trees up with tags that give information (gender, age, favorite color, wish list) about a child who is a part of the Operation Family Christmas program. You can choose a tag (or as many as you like!), and go shopping and by December 16 bring the unwrapped gifts (with tags securely attached) to the location you picked them up from.

Gifts can be in any dollar amount.

Once purchased, all of the presents (which can also be gift cards) need to be dropped off by December 16 at the Senior Center or the North Shore Federal Credit Union in Grand Marais.

If you have questions, please call Jes at 218-370-9813. Jes can also be reached through her email at [email protected].