Mya Littlefair, of Blackfalds, sleeps in her Christmas stocking at Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre (RDRHC). RDRHC Volunteer Resources has been supplying Christmas stockings to the maternity and NICU units annually for the past 40 years.   (Alberta Health Services)

By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

a happy little gift

Stocking babies bring joy to Red Deer hospital staff and new parents

Dec 22, 2022 | 3:12 PM

Newborn babies in miniature Christmas stockings; what more could one ask for during the holidays?

One longstanding volunteer initiative at the Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre continues to provide families that precise gift.

Angie Scott sewed 60 stockings in 2022, all of which made their way to the NICU, pediatrics and post-partum departments. They are used primarily on Christmas eve and morning to surprise parents, and by swaddling Earth’s newest inhabitants.

While Scott has been involved for about five years, and providing other sewn items throughout the year, the initiative itself goes back four decades.

“It means absolutely everything to me to do this,” says Scott. “It comes from the heart and it’s certainly a happy feeling I get with doing all of this for the hospital. It’s wonderful to be able to give back to the Red Deer Regional Hospital.”

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When families leave the hospital, they get to take the stocking home, explains Amie Mays, NICU and pediatrics manager.

“I’ve been in the ICU here for 20 years and was a nurse previously; I can say without a doubt that this brings a lot of joy to our families who get very excited when they see their newborn babies in a stocking. It’s a great Christmas gift,” says Mays.

“Our Red Deer volunteer services helps coordinate all this work, and not only do we get generous donations like those from Angie, we have many other volunteers, community donors and employees who donate blankets, stuffed animals and other items. That way, we’re really able to go above and beyond to spoil kids here during the holidays.”

Once upon a time, says Mays, she was a NICU baby, and as her mother tells her, had a brief stay inside one of these very stockings.

“The parents carry those memories for years to come, so the stockings do mean a lot.”