The Osterlohs, originally from Oregon, have been in Kingston 16 months. Though the family at first planned to have the dinner in their home, their church, First Congregational Church of Kingston, offered them the use of the Rent Room, its function room.
“If it hadn’t worked out, we still would have had it at our house,” Sandi said, adding, “But there’s more room here.” The family has always had a collective heart for others, but Sandi points to a vacation in the Dominican Republic as their “wake-up call.” “We realized how fortunate we are, when we looked at the resort we were in compared to the little town nearby,” she said. “We spend all kinds of money on things we don’t need. It’s crazy.
We talked about the options, and came up with a community Christmas dinner.” The Osterlohs will decorate their house, including a tree, but they won’t open presents on Christmas Day. Instead, they’ll head out to the church to begin cooking. Zach and Nikki-Ann will drive over from Pembroke to help. Some church members have volunteered, though Sandi stresses that this is not a church project, but an Osterloh project. If it’s just the five of them, the dinner will still go on.
Andrea’s youth group is scheduled to sing carols, and will probably do some baking, she said. And Police Chief Donald Briggs has volunteered to deliver meals to shut-ins, according to Sandi. Andrea, a sophomore at Sanborn Regional High School, doesn’t mind not getting gifts. “You don’t need presents to celebrate,” she said firmly.