Toy Coffee extends hours this year
Published 6:41 am Wednesday, November 24, 2021
Dawn Burleigh/Orange Leader
Dawn Burleigh/Orange Leader
Dawn Burleigh/Orange Leader
Dawn Burleigh/Orange Leader
Dawn Burleigh/Orange Leader
Dawn Burleigh/Orange Leader
Dawn Burleigh/Orange Leader
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By Dawn Burleigh
A Christmas tradition continues for the 65th year with new hours.
Toy Coffee is at 703 8th Street in Orange from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. – 7 p.m. on Dec. 2. Admission is a new unwrapped toy or a cash donation. All donations are given to The Salvation Army of Orange County Texas.
This is the first time a homeowner has been asked twice and yet, is a different house. Paul and Raul Burch offered their home once before and were excited to be asked again. However, they have moved to a new location since the last time they hosted the event.
The yearly event offers the public the opportunity to tour a beautiful home which has been decorated for the season and allows area residents to see the house and assist in a worthy cause at the same time.
This year is sure to be a special treat as guests visit the 106-year-old home.
“Raul starts decorating every night when he comes home,” Paul said during a preview tour of the house.
When asked for a count of the number of light bulbs used to decorate the front yard, Paul said he was unsure as they have added lights every year to their collection and use them all.
This year a lighted wreath has been added to the outside décor.
Last year, the event collected 374 toys and over $6,000 in monetary donations.
The Service League of Orange helps bag up the toys with the Salvation Army to be handed out. This year, they will spend two days sacking up the toys so they can be delivered before Christmas.
And the need to help the children is strong this year as Salvation Army has approximately 400 children. Planning for the event is a process which starts almost as soon as the last event is over. First, a committee has to decide which homes are an option, and then they have to ask the homeowner for permission.
Decisions such as where to place the sleigh for the toys, to where will the truck sit so the bagging and loading of the toys is not visible to the guests were decided.
Also, safety and comfort were discussed as the number of people per group was decided as well as what order the rooms will be shown.
However, this year, due to COVID concerns, the Service League will not serve food but will provide each guest with a treat bag.
In conjunction with Granger Chevrolet and KOGT Radio are teaming up for the 12th Annual Food Drive from 7 a.m. – 9 a.m. on Thursday, Dec. 2 at Granger Chevrolet at 2611 MacArthur Drive in Orange. This is to help restock The Salvation Army and Orange Christian Services food supply. For more information, call Granger Chevrolet at 409-988-0000 or KOGT at 409-886-5648.
