It was feeling a lot like the yuletide season in Park Ridge recently as a couple dozen senior citizens gathered for a “Christmas in July” event at the Centennial Activity Center – with donated gifts piled high.
Christmas in July, held July 2 and in its second year, is the brainchild of Eileen Gabriel-Galan, a Park Ridge Park District supervisor. Gabriel-Galan said that since taking the job two years ago, she’s been trying programs to entertain senior residents in the community and hit on the idea last year.
It turned out to be a winner, she said, with several in the crowd this year returning after participating in 2024.
“People really enjoyed it,” she said of last year’s event. “They find it nice to do a little celebration in the middle of the year and they don’t have to wait until Christmas time.”
The Christmas in July event drew quite the crowd – with nearly all chairs filled – and a table in the center of the room was piled high with gifts.
Gabriel-Galan explained that summer programming for seniors can be hard to coordinate because a lot of residents go on vacation during those months. Still, Gabriel-Galan said she likes to keep residents busy.
Last month the center offered a blind wine tasting event and on July 14 there will be a beer tasting.
“We try to do something different, we have our regular fitness classes every day during the week, bunco, poker tournament [and] a variety of different things,” she said.
The noon Christmas in July event began with a lunch, then residents exchanged gifts during a popular seasonal game called white elephant – where typically low-cost items or interesting things lying around the house are wrapped and put in play.
Participants brought wrapped gifts, drew numbers and then picked something they thought looked interesting. People could swap gifts up to three times.
The twist on the game got a bit heated – a friendly contention.
“This is adorable, it’s really cute,” said Gabriel-Galan with her pick. She snagged a Hello Kitty tea set with a tray and some Cuisinart knives. After she unwrapped the present, she looked around the room.
As the game goes, someone could take her gift if they wanted to, forcing her to choose another one.
It was shortly taken by Nancy Jensen, a senior volunteer who helped run the event.
Not every gift was so beloved and sought after. Don Tyre, a balding man, got two bottles of ladies hair care products.
“I can use the tissue paper though,” Tyre quipped.
Sharlene Prien, a returning participant, called the event “fun, the food was good.”
Jesse Wright is a freelancer.
