GOLDEN — At first, it didn’t look like anything was missing from Geri and Ellie Ikel heimer’s birthday party.
With Ellie turning 4 on Feb. 27 and Geri having turned 6 on Feb. 3, the girls held a joint bash on Valentine’s Day at their home in Golden.
There was plenty of food, including lasagna.
Colorful helium balloons decorated the living room ceiling. Guests sang, licked pink cupcake frosting off their fingers and even had their faces painted by a clown.
But there was something missing, an important ingredient for any kid’s birthday party: the presents.
Geri and Ellie decided against presents for themselves this year. Instead, they wanted to do something that would benefit people in need. With help from their parents, Doug and Amy, they took donated items to make into “comfort kits” for the Mile High Chapter of the American Red Cross.
Children’s kits included teddy bears, coloring books and crayons, while those for adults had necessities such as soap, shampoo and toothbrushes.
Amy Ikelheimer said her daughters very much understood the importance of their charity.
“When I mentioned it to the kids, they really didn’t blink an eye,” she said.
Doug Ikelheimer also said that the girls haven’t complained a bit about not receiving presents.
“We saw it as an opportunity . . . to create something significant,” he said.
After all the donations had been collected, Doug Ikel heimer said the family had created between 50 and 75 care kits.
Not all of them could fit on the one table out by the front door, and some had to be set on the snowy ground next to it.
Meanwhile, kids inside squealed in delight as each had the chance to take three swings at a homemade piñata in the shape of a pig. It ultimately split open, creating a small frenzy as candy gushed onto the hardwood floor.
Presents may have been missing, but they weren’t missed.
“(We wanted to) collectively do something for the community,” Doug Ikelheimer said. “Everybody’s been very responsive to it.”
George Plaven: 303-954-1638 or gplaven@denverpost.com
