Giving reimagined: alternative gift ideas for 2020 in T-burg

Whether you are looking for a free gift or looking for an opportunity to give back to the community, there are alternative ways to do it in T-burg. While the pandemic has pushed us apart physically, two residents have created unique ways to bring people together during the holiday season.

Trumansburg Porch Puzzle Library

Last winter when the pandemic was still a relatively new change to our lives, Cait Darfler found herself doing a lot of quiet activities at home. She was home with her 2-year-old daughter and 6-year-old son and realized they had completed all of their puzzles. She had traded puzzles with friends before and thought that maybe it could work on a bigger scale.

In April, Darfler put a mixture of 20 child- and adult-level puzzles on her enclosed front porch and posted a message to the Gift Exchange for the Trumansburg Community (GETC) Facebook Page, announcing that anyone could come take them for free. She also encouraged people to leave puzzles they didn’t want anymore.

Since then, the Trumansburg Porch Puzzle Library has had a steady flow of community members stopping by, with 100 puzzles on the porch at one point.

“It changes daily,” Darfler said of the puzzle selection. “We get people coming by pretty much every day, dropping off or picking up a new one and people coming for the first time. It’s definitely a puzzle type of year.”

She said that creating a secondhand economy is important to her from an environmental standpoint but also as a way to help her community when so many are struggling financially or mentally.

“People can’t access things the way they used to,” Darfler said. “This year, you want to find mindful, peaceful things to do at your home. And puzzles are a really great way to do that. You just look at color and shape and you can let your mind wander. It’s a very meditative practice. People are really wanting something like that in the pandemic.”

While puzzles do occasionally show up with missing pieces, Darfler said it doesn’t take away from the fun. She’s also created a spot to leave random pieces that are found after the fact, which she attempts to return to their rightful boxes.

The puzzle library is located at 32 Whig St. and is open during daytime hours.

Origami Crane Earrings

For years, Kayti Dean has had a casual hobby of making folded paper origami cranes, and this January, she was challenged by a friend to make 1,000 of them. The idea came from a Japanese legend that states if you make 1,000 paper cranes, you will be granted a wish or have one of your prayers answered.

She’s made about 1,300 cranes since the beginning of the year and decided to do something good with them. Dean coated some of the finished origami in a Mod Podge solution to seal the paper, harden it and protect it from moisture. She also added metal earring hooks and is now offering pairs as free gifts for the holidays to help those in need.

“I think sometimes, there are people in our lives that we appreciate and we want to do something special for,” Dean said. “But you might not have the resources to do it. I thought, ‘If there’s somebody in your life who would love these, but you don’t have the extra money at the moment.’ That led to this idea.”

She’s posted the jewelry on the GETC Facebook Page and asked anyone who picks up a pair to make a donation to the local food pantry if they’re able to. For those who cannot donate, she simply asks them to pay the kindness forward. And when she ends up with cash from those who insist on paying her, she said it always goes to a good cause.

Dean is now the Reverend of Caroline Valley Community Church, but before moving to Trumansburg this June with her family, she worked in Binghamton as the director of the Crisis Respite Program at the Mental Health Association of the Southern Tier. She said her paper folding hobby helped her through some tough moments.

“Very early on in COVID, I was taking a lot of phone calls from folks who were struggling,” Dean said. “It became my way of staying present with them. I would fold cranes and pray my way through that conversation. It was an exercise in mindfulness and prayer for me.”

So far, she said that 20 people have taken her up on the free earrings offer, most citing how much a friend or loved one would enjoy them. The earrings come on a paper card stamped with the words “Paper with a purpose for hope and healing.” She said it’s not a company name, but a mission statement.

“Tying back to that Japanese legend — there’s something about bringing hope into the world and encouraging people, especially this year where the odds are stacked against so many people,” Dean said. “It’s OK to be kind to others and not need anything in return, and there’s no such thing as too much hope.”

In Brief:

Trumansburg Fire Company Letters to Santa Program

Each year, the T-burg Fire House puts out a mail bin to collect children’s letters to Santa. While the deadline to add a letter has passed, there’s still time to donate to the program.

Volunteers read every letter and purchase a gift from each child’s list. On the day of Christmas Eve, two fire trucks full of firemen dressed as elves and Santa deliver gifts to unsuspecting kids. This year, the crew will be masked up and there won’t be any hugs, but the deliveries will go on.

For more information or to donate, please contact any member of the T-burg Fire Company or call organizer Patty Dodge at 607-387-7501. Financial donations can be dropped off or mailed to Trumansburg Fire Company, 74 W. Main St., Trumansburg, NY 14886.