Home For Christmas
Home For Christmas !
We are seeking your support in making this a very special Holiday Season, different than any before, and perhaps more meaningful than any other Christmas and New Year’s celebration ever.
As you know, our military families make incredible sacrifices for all of us in their service to our beloved America. Among those many sacrifices is the hardship of being away from their loved ones and families during special holiday seasons, and none is tougher than Christmas and New Years. This reality is as true today as at any time in our Nation’s history.
Sikeston Factory Outlet Stores, with all of its individual stores, salons, and restaurants invites you to join with us to create our First Annual “Home For Christmas” celebration to give honor and respect to all those who are presently serving, or who have previously served with our military, and who have sacrificed their own family celebrations in service to us.
“Home For Christmas” features a live, monumentally big Christmas tree, shining with 10,000 lights, and hung with hand-crafted ornaments, each with an individual photograph of our service men and women from throughout our region who currently or have formerly served with our military. Sikeston Factory Outlet Stores will fly the flags of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, and National Guard on every flagpole. The Stars and Stripes Museum in Bloomfield is joining together with us in this tribute, and will have its display of military items depicting the many ways our service personnel have celebrated the holidays over the years. As you may know, Stars and Stripes is the Armed Forces newspaper first published on Saturday, November 9, 1861- almost 150 years ago, in Bloomfield, Missouri.
In order to make this a meaningful tribute to all of our military service personnel, the following are features of the First Annual Home For Christmas Celebration:
- The U.S. Marine’s Toys For Tots program will be sponsored throughout the Mall- from now until Christmas- to collect new, wrapped toys for needy children. The Marines will distribute the collected toys to deserving children throughout our region.
- A Tree Lighting Ceremony will be held on Saturday, December 4th at 4:00 PM, at which time all families of service personnel are invited to attend. A military color guard, musical program, and dignitaries will perform a dedication ceremony for all those honored, and prayer offerings will be made in thanks to all who serve.
- Every family who supplies a photograph in any form will have an ornament made and hung on the tree along with all others who serve or who have served. The ornaments will be made without cost to any military family. Following the Christmas Season, these ornaments will be given, free of charge, to every family as a keepsake.
- The official “Marine Bear” created by Build-a-Bear Workshops will be given away to the winners of drawings made from donation boxes located throughout the Mall. All funds donated as part of the drawing will be given to the Toys For Tots program.
- The Stars and Stripes Museum will have its display of the many ways Christmas has been celebrated by our military personnel over the years.
- The Christmas tree will be lit every evening with 10,000 lights in honor of all those who now serve or who have served.