DENHAM SPRINGS - While many of us are busy shopping for friends and family, one Denham Springs woman is making sure nursing home residents feel the Christmas spirit too.

Molly Schuetz says that while the holiday season often focuses on children, the magic of Christmas matters just as much as we get older.

A stocking on Christmas morning is often the highlight for kids, a small bag filled with carefully chosen surprises. But for seniors, that sense of excitement can sometimes fade.

"There’s a lot of programs for children during the Christmas holidays, and I think they’re wonderful, but the elderly, the senior population, they’re forgotten so many times," Schuetz said.

For the past five years, Schuetz has been filling stockings for residents at the Golden Age Nursing Home in Denham Springs. Her tradition began during the COVID-19 pandemic, after seeing how isolated many seniors were.

"I kept seeing stories of the nursing home residents basically shut in," she said.

Schuetz started spreading some Christmas cheer with stockings, and the residents loved it.

"They love it, you know, they feel special. They know someone has thought about them," Schuetz said.

In the first two years, donations were plentiful, with dozens of people helping. Schuetz says she typically received 50 to 75 stockings each year and hopes eventually to provide one for every resident.

For $20, anyone can sponsor a stocking, which Schuetz fills herself and includes a personal Christmas card from the donor.

"The amount of support was overwhelming," Schuetz said.

In recent years, however, participation has slowed.

"I do have loyal people that help every year, they’ve been with me since the very beginning, but participation has definitely dwindled down over the past couple of years," Schuetz said.

Despite the decrease in donations, Schuetz has covered the cost herself, sometimes spending hundreds of dollars to make sure no resident is left out.

"I’ll usually spend $300 to $400 dollars of my own money," she said.

But for Schuetz, the joy on the residents’ faces makes it all worthwhile.

"I not only package the stockings and hand-deliver them, but I try to spend some time with them that day when I go. They love it, they love it," she said. "I leave feeling just so fulfilled, I feel like it’s a blessing for me as well."

Schuetz will deliver the stockings to the Golden Age Nursing Home on December 19th.

If you’d like to sponsor a stocking, you can donate to the GoFundMe or contact Schuetz on her Facebook.