Morris girls celebrate season with giving

It's not always easy for children to think more of others than of themselves during the holiday season.

Two young Morris girls, however, had their thoughts focused on sick children this Christmas, rather than on what was under their trees at home waiting for them.

Nicole Guth and Emily Miracle spent time on their Christmas break making homemade ornaments and going door-to-door selling them for charity around their neighborhood. The White Oak Elementary fifth graders said they were looking for something to do on their first days home on break and they thought of making the ornaments.

The two friends weren't new to the work. They also made ornaments last year that they sold for donations to charity.

"They were little foam shapes," she said, "and you would write things on them."

Their ornaments were quite different this year.

Emily's mother, Denise, remembered making them from Christmas cards when she was a little girl. She had saved some old cards from the year before and taught her daughter and Nicole how to make them.

The girls traced circles from the rim of a cup onto each of the cards, then cut the circles out. Then they folded three sides of each circle and stapled them together in a way to make the three-dimensional ornaments. They made several, punched holes in the tops, threaded ribbons through, and hung them from a tree branch for display.

"It was really easy," Emily said. "We sold them door-to-door. We went to people we knew first."

The girls were surprised at how fast the ornaments sold and were even more taken aback by the prices they fetched. They were only asking 50 cents each.

"Some people gave $10," Nicole said.

Karen McCluckie, who was home for the holidays visiting her parents, Denny and Fran, said she was immediately taken with the girls and their true Christmas spirits. The ornaments were so cute, too, she said, as were the way they were displayed on the tree branch.

The McCluckies bought two and, as a teacher, Karen said she is keeping the idea in mind for her own students next year.

Both Nicole and Emily said they love crafts and making things in general. The two just made over Emily's closet as a Hawaiian fort. They enjoy drawing and painting, as well.

They looked up the address for St. Jude's Children's Hospital, which they knew from commercials on TV, and mailed their profits in.

"I hope it goes for Christmas presents for the kids," Emily said.

"It feels good for other kids to be able to do what we can," Nicole added.

Nicole's parents are Tom and Vickie Guth, and Emily's parents are Scott and Denise Miracle.

The students are asking those who received Christmas cards this year to save them for more ornaments they plan to make next year. The cards can be mailed or taken to the Morris District 54 office in White Oak Elementary School, 54 White Oak Drive, Morris, IL, 60450, attention Fran McCluckie.