Grades 6-12; Boarding 8-12

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HomeFront Holiday Party

Students holding gifts dressed in elf costumes
Give the Gift of Giving

The HomeFront Holiday Party, on Saturday, December 15, is a twenty-five-year-old Pennington tradition in which Pennington students host guests from HomeFront, a local organization serving those in need in Mercer County. The annual Holiday Party offers our neighbors from HomeFront a luncheon hosted by Pennington students and staff, a visit with Santa, arts and crafts, a deejay, and more. A highlight of the party is Santa's Workshop, where our HomeFront guests, parents and children alike, have the opportunity to select a gift to give. In our toy shop, we are honored to offer parents the dignity of choice as they shop, and children have the opportunity to choose a gift for their parents. Join the Peer Leaders and share the joy that comes from providing a stress-free environment, one filled with love and care, and one which unites us as one community. Students can sign up to volunteer to work during the party; more information will be found in the Voice.

We expect close to 400 guests, the majority of whom are children, and therefore the number of donated items needed to fill Santa's Toy Shop is significant in order to ensure that EVERY guest receives a gift. The "ticket" for the dress-down day, Friday, December 7, is a new, unwrapped toy. Please consider including items for the HomeFront Holiday Party on your shopping list. Additional gifts, along with hats and gloves and/or personal hygiene items, will be accepted anytime. Items may be dropped off in the bins located in Yen, Stainton, and the Campus Center. Unfortunately, the need is greater than ever this year. Please help us reach our goal so that we can extend the gift of giving to others less fortunate than ourselves.

This year, we are also hosting our first-ever book fair at Barnes & Noble in the MarketFair mall on Monday, December 10. B & N gives us a percentage of total sales, based on volume, which we will use to purchase books for all of our guests at the party. Please consider doing some holiday shopping at B & N on December 10, and don't forget to mention that your purchase should go to the Pennington book fair. You might also consider purchasing your favorite book to give to a child at the holiday party. New books can also be dropped off in the bins located around the School.

See any Peer Leader, Ms. O'Connell, or Mr. Ritter if you have any questions. We request the Pennington School community to bring in the following:

  • Middle School: Gifts for infants-age 3 (Examples: toy blocks, baby books, stuffed animals, clothing)
  • Grade 9: Gifts for children ages 4-6 (Examples: dolls, stuffed animals, action figures, Hot Wheels)
  • Grade 10: Gifts for children ages 7-10 (Examples: Legos, Nerf guns, board games, Easy Bake ovens, remote control cars, scooters)
  • Grade 11: Gifts for children ages 11-13 (Examples: makeup kits, string bracelet sets, ship/car model kits)
  • Grade 12: Gifts for children ages 14-18 (Examples: clothing, jewelry, watches, makeup kits, sweatshirts)
  • Adults: Gifts for adults (Examples: candles, perfume, jewelry, soaps, body wash)

Gifts good for essentially any age: clothing, games, sports equipment, art supplies, books, starter instruments (ukulele, starter guitar, beginner drum set).

THANK YOU!-- The 2018-19 Peer Leaders