Christmas for Kids benefits from bidders’ generosity

  • by Jennifer Kneuss
  • November 29, 2010
  • 287
                        
Hands flew into the air again and again as auction goers entered their bids for the chance to buy splendidly decorated Christmas packages during the Christmas for Kids auction at the Sugarcreek fire station on November 27, 2010. “The auction is something that they had always done in the past, and then they quit doing it probably six or eight years ago. We decided to bring it back this year,” noted Cheryll Shireman, who was coordinating weekend activities for Christmas in Sugarcreek. “ It is to raise money for the fire department’s Christmas for Kids campaign. We are hoping to help out.” Firemen learn of the Christmas lists of area children whose families may be having difficulty during the holiday season, and then raise funds to grant their Christmas wishes. “We have an auctioneer, Robert Miller of Kaufman Auctions,” explained Shireman. “There is everything from gift certificates, to cash, you name it, we are going to have it. These are beautifully wrapped Christmas presents, but you have no idea what you are getting until you open the presents. You are bidding on a mystery package. You just don’t know what you are going to get.” Shireman explained that every package had valuable contents. “All of the mystery gifts are worth from twenty-five to one hundred dollars, and two contain fifty-dollar bills. One lucky bidder will find a one hundred dollar bill inside.” Although many of the packages tucked under the Christmas tree were very ornate, some were as simple as small rectangles wrapped in plain paper. Some were large, some quite small. The Ohio Swiss Festival Queen, Rachel Teague, and first attendant Lydia Kneuss and second attendant Katie Eckert, took turns displaying each of the 59 packages that were up for auction. Although initial bids were in the ten to fifteen dollar range, prices quickly climbed, with many packages going for twenty to thirty-five dollars each. Many packages were cleverly wrapped or weighted to help disguise the package contents. Once all 59 packages were purchased, recipients all opened them at the same time, in a scene reminiscent of Christmas morning. When Dave Miller of Better Bilt Storage opened one of several boxes he purchased, he found multiple quarts of oil, but when he opened the second, much heavier box, he found it contained a large metal chain – and an envelope containing one hundred dollars. Overall, the auction raised over a thousand dollars for the Christmas for Kids campaign. Money for the current campaign to renovate and find a permanent home for the World’s Largest Cuckoo Clock also benefited from the day. Those enjoying the food items offered were asked to make donations, and raffle tickets and 50-50 tickets were also sold during the event.


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