Operation Holiday At Home: Adopt-A-Family

Bringing Christmas to Families Who Can’t Get to Us

For thousands of families in New Jersey and beyond, Christmas isn’t guaranteed. Some parents are facing unemployment, medical crises, housing instability, or simply the brutal reality of not having the transportation or mobility to attend a large distribution event. Others are embarrassed, ashamed, or overwhelmed by the idea of standing in a public line asking for help.

Operation Holiday At Home® was created for them.

This branch of Operation Holiday® quietly serves families who cannot attend our annual Every Day Is Christmas event in person. These are parents who want their children to experience a joyful Christmas morning but simply can’t get to the venue, and families who prefer privacy, dignity, and discretion during hard times. At Home allows them to receive support without being seen, judged, or identified.

Here’s how it works:
We receive applications from families in crisis. We verify basic information, then create a private, anonymous Family ID profile. Their story is shared online for adoption. We never reveal their name. We never show their face. What the community sees is their situation, their needs, and their children’s wish lists. Donors can “adopt” a family by purchasing gifts directly from their list or by donating to help fulfill remaining requests. Everything is delivered or arranged discreetly, with no fanfare.

Parents repeatedly tell us what this means to them:

“I couldn’t stop crying when I saw our story posted. You told the truth without exposing us. I felt seen… but safe.”

“Thank you for letting me be honest without feeling judged. I was too embarrassed to go to an event. This helped my kids have a Christmas I couldn’t give them alone.”

These words matter. They’re the reason At Home exists.

Many of the families we serve include single parents without cars, grandparents raising grandchildren, mothers recovering from surgeries, fathers working overnight shifts, and individuals who quietly say, “We just need a little help this year.”

At Home fills that gap in a way that protects their dignity while still allowing the community to step in with compassion and generosity.

While Operation Holiday At Home® runs separately from the Every Day Is Christmas event, which will be held on December 23, 2025 at Fairleigh Dickinson University (FDU) distributing 6,000 gifts to free ticketholders. Both programs work together to make sure no child is forgotten. The event serves more than 2,000 in-person guests with toys, children's activity stations, winter essentials, and family support resources through over 40 non-profit organizations and for-profit organizations with the desire to "give back" to the community. At Home reaches those who would be left behind.

How You Can Help

Scan the red QR code on the flyer to adopt a family directly.
Scan the green QR code to donate and keep Operation Holiday® going strong. Either way, your support matters, and a child is supported.

To make a donation by check, please make checks payable to: 

Operation Holiday

403 Welsh Place

Morris Plains, NJ 07950-2954

You can also visit www.operationholiday.net to learn more about our mission, our programs, and our impact throughout New Jersey.

Questions or interested in sponsoring? Call (973) 866-5531 or email penny@operationholiday.net.