Easy and Safe Ways to Donate to Children’s Hospitals at Christmas
Every December, thousands of kids spend Christmas in hospital rooms instead of at home, some facing tough treatments, others too fragile to go outside.
If you’ve ever wished you could bring kids in need some holiday magic, there’s a safe and easy way to do it.
Donating a Christmas gift is a meaningful way to brighten kids’ days during the holidays.
Keeping Every Gift Safe to Share
When you buy toys to donate at the store, they pass through many hands. Someone shelves the toys, puts them into shopping carts, checks them out and drives them to the hospital.
During the winter months, when flu, RSV and COVID are at their peak, that chain can easily spread germs to kids whose immune systems are already working overtime.
Infants and kids with chronic illness are impacted the most, which is why the hospital usually gets an influx of infants admitted during the respiratory season.
When kids are already vulnerable, even a small virus can have big consequences.
“We wash our hands a lot, but there’s still that opportunity to spread infection,” explains Rita, Director of the Cherese Mari Laulhere Child Life Program at Miller Children’s & Women’s Hospital.
That’s why hospitals are careful. Every safe delivery means one less worry for parents spending Christmas at their child’s bedside.
Miller Children’s and other hospitals encourage a safer way to give – sending donations directly to the hospital itself.
Skip the Line: Donate Christmas Gifts Online
Giving online is the easiest and safest way to send Christmas gifts to kids in need at the hospital.
Most children’s hospitals post online wish lists with toys and comfort items they need most. When you purchase from a hospital’s list, your gift ships directly to their door – brand-new, clean and ready to brighten a child’s day.
“It’s a very safe way to accept donations and the same way we get them from Starlight. These platforms really are the safest way when it comes to infection control.”
- Rita Goshert, Director of the Child Life Program at Miller Children’s & Women’s Hospital
Starlight follows the same wish list model through the Starlight Hub, where hospitals can “shop” for toys and programs fully funded by Starlight’s generous donors. Each toy ships straight from Starlight’s warehouse to hospital doors.
A behind-the-scenes video of how donated Christmas gifts are delivered from Starlight's warehouse to kids in need at the hospital.
Ensuring Every Child Feels Included
Even with generous donations, children’s hospitals sometimes run short on gifts for certain age groups, especially infants and teens. During flu season, when more infants are admitted, having enough toys to go around matters more than ever.
Starlight helps hospitals fill the gaps, so no one is left out. When ordering toys through the Starlight Hub, the child life team at Miller Children’s can “pick the ones [toys] that we typically get the least of, so that works out to fill that gap,” Rita explains.
Starlight’s toy deliveries help hospitals make sure no child feels left out of the holiday celebration.
The Spirit of Giving
“The community is why the holidays are so unbelievably special. Everyone has such big hearts all year long, but especially around the holidays, when they are thinking about a sick child in the hospital missing out on all the celebrations and festivities.”
- Rita Goshert, Director of the Child Life Program at Miller Children’s & Women’s Hospital
That spirit of kindness is what fuel’s Starlight’s mission to deliver happiness to seriously ill kids.
When you give through Starlight, your donation can support kids in greatest need. In 2024 alone, 46% of Starlight’s hospital and medical facility network impacted medically underserved and vulnerable populations.
When you donate through Starlight, you’re doing more than sending a toy.
You’re delivering comfort and happiness to kids when they need it most. You’re helping hospitals confidently order what’s best for their patients.
We make it easy: you donate, we deliver, and kids smile.
Many Ways to Help Hospitalized Children
Get joyful stories, Starlight updates, and clear ways to support hospitalized kids all year long.
