Holiday Time for Police Children

Since I was 3 years old, I have had the honour of celebrating 13 Christmas seasons with the Toronto Police Service. As some of you may be aware, every year around the beginning of December, the Association organizes a party for all the officers and their families. They also hand out gifts to the children of the officers under the age of 10, if they are registered by their parent. This gives families time to be together for the holidays, as sometimes our officers work late during this season. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Christmas party will not occur this year, but it doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy time with our families. Now that I'm older, I’ve learned a lot about how fortunate we are to have our families with us on this holiday, especially those in the First Responder profession.

Sometimes, they may have to work the late shift or the early shift, but they will always make time for us. On more than one occasion, my father has worked the night shift on Christmas Eve, but still came home, rested for an hour, and then opened up my gifts with me. Those are moments that will live with me forever. They sacrifice their safety at work and then sacrifice their sleep to give us memories.

With our parents working such stressful hours as First Responders, their spouses are just as much to thank for making the holidays so special. Every year, my family sits in our living room to watch our favourite movies on Christmas Eve.

With my father’s unpredictable work hours, some years, we have missed out on those movie nights. My mother, just as I assume many other spouses of our officers do, make the best of the situation. From kid to kid, I understand how the holidays may be difficult for some of us when our parents are not home. However, I promise you they think about us constantly and wish they could be at home with us to see our happy faces.

Merry Christmas everyone, and have a Happy New Year.