Christmas comes early for Calgary kids thanks to Make-A-Wish

Thirteen Alberta children were gifted a customized Christmas tree and a pile of presents on Thursday morning as part of Make-A-Wish Canada’s Trees of Joy event.

Make-A-Wish helps children with critical illnesses by granting requests made by them or their families. 

The organization's annual Canada’s Trees of Joy event pairs recipients up with local donors to get in the Christmas spirit.

"Each wish child designed their own tree, and we have the sponsors decorating the tree to those specifications," Simona Lupas said. "It is an amazing way to kick off the holiday season."

Sponsoring companies donated upwards of $10,000 each, spending money on tree decorations in the requested theme and presents that the kids asked for earlier this year. 

After meeting Santa, the families were led into the Fairmont Palliser’s Crystal Ballroom to see their new trees lit up. 

All the trees will be delivered to wish homes to enjoy throughout the holiday season.

"Just being able to have moments like this that we don’t talk about medical stuff and really just enjoy the journey, it just means so much for families like ours," parent Gemma Fox said. "You always want to bring joy to your kids — that’s all you want in life — and as a medical parent, it’s really hard.

"Events like this, to see a room full of people who are dedicating their time to making joy for your whole family, it just means something incredible to us."

This year was a banner year for Make-A-Wish. 

"We have been in Canada over 40 years, and this year we have granted over 2,100 wishes, which is the most," Lupas said. "We want to give that special moment in time for our families to just be a family without the doctor appointments and the hospital visits."

To learn more, visit the Make-A-Wish website.