Couple?s ?gift to the community:? Christmas dinner in Packwood

The fifth or sixth ? no one is quite sure ? annual Christmas Day community dinner will be served up from noon to 1 p.m. Dec. 25 in Packwood.

The dinner is open to anyone and everyone, free of charge. It is held at the Packwood Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), because the couple who started the dinner attend church there.

?It?s their gift to the community,? said Harlan ?Frosty? Van Voorst, speaking about his friends. ?John and Jeanne Moore own Bits and Blades in town. They put this dinner on.?

John Moore said they?ve had between 50 to 70 people attend in past years,

?I think our highest attendance one year was 74,? said Moore. ?We want to get the word out and have more people join us.?

He said the idea came to him a few years back, approaching Christmas with only he and his wife Jeanne at home to celebrate.

?Christmas has always been about God and Jesus, and family,? he said. ?Once our boys were grown and moved out ? far enough away they don?t often get here for Christmas ? it occurred to us why sit at home, creating the big traditional Christmas dinner which involves a lot of work, then the clean-up and washing all those dishes and having left-overs to eat too many days by ourselves.

?And we knew we weren?t the only ones in town. There are other older people by themselves or older couples who would be alone, so we started hosting Christmas Day dinner, open to anyone and not just residents of Packwood.?

Moore said they like to serve a traditional dinner with a twist. Supplied by Fairfield?s Hy-Vee Food and Drug Store, at a nice discount, he said, the Moores and other volunteers cook turkey stuffed with a duck stuffed with a chicken. Sides include mashed potatoes and gravy, a vegetable, two kinds of stuffing ? a traditional recipe and a Cajun one ? rolls, drinks and dessert.

?Dessert is a cake from Yummy?s,? said Moore.

?It?s a great way for residents to come and share time with friends and neighbors,? he said. ?We have some decorations up and on the tables. We get some families whose kids might be visiting for Christmas. Instead of having to spend all that time at home in the kitchen, they come down to our dinner and have more time to visit with one another. Usually, they also come in the kitchen here at church to help out.

?We get kind of a giant traffic jam in the kitchen with all those who want to help, but it works out. We don?t have to worry about a huge clean up effort or doing lots of dishes, and we?re not faced with too many left-overs. We do give left-overs to anyone who wants to take some home.?

Packwood?s Christmas Day noon dinner is extended to everyone.

?About a quarter of those attending come from Fairfield,? said Moore. ?We get some folks from other surrounding communities. All are welcome. We don?t ask for donations, but we?ll accept free-will offerings. We save those up to buy food for the next year. We set aside money throughout the year toward the dinner so we?re not hit at the holidays with a large expense.?

Those wanting to attend are asked to call in reservations ahead of time for planning purposes, but Moore said they cook more food than the reservation count.

Reservations are available by calling Van Voorst at 319-695-3009 or Moore at 319-695-3209.

Birmingham Christmas dinner

Birmingham. too, is hosting a free Christmas Day dinner at noon, served at the United Methodist Church. The dinner has been moved from its previous location at the Birmingham Lions Club building, to the church which has more space.

Birmingham?s Christmas dinner is in its third or fourth year, and it also began for people in the community who might spend the holiday alone, according to Arlene Lyons, a Birmingham resident.

Community members wanted to remedy that by hosting a free dinner, serving a traditional Christmas menu, she said.

?Since it started, it?s now open to anyone who wants to come and have a nice dinner,? said Lyons. ?I haven?t attended yet because I have my family here for Christmas.?

No reservations or free-will offerings are needed.