Children and their incarcerated mothers decorate cookies and create memories through holiday event

POCATELLO — Children and their incarcerated mothers celebrated the upcoming holiday together by decorating cookies, sharing laughter and making memories for a lifetime. 

Over the weekend, Prison Fellowship hosted a special Angel Tree Christmas party at the Pocatello Women’s Correctional Center. Prison Fellowship is “the nation’s largest Christian nonprofit equipping the church to serve currently and formerly incarcerated people and their families,” according to its website

About 20 children — from toddlers to 16-year-olds — spent quality time and strengthened bonds with their mothers and caregivers on Saturday. 

“You have a child that hasn’t seen their parent in a very long time or the last time they have seen them, has not been in a good way. So when you see the child run up to their mom like, ‘Mommy, mommy, mommy!’ It’s just so heartwarming. They are just running and jumping in their arms,” said Prison Ministry Manager Stephanie Taylor-Thompson.

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Taylor-Thompson said that during the four-hour event, mothers and their children made a stuffed animal together. 

“Mothers got to record a special message that actually went in the stuffed animal and was able to go home with the child,” Taylor-Thompson explained.

 

They also took a picture with each other and put it in on an ornament. Watersprings Church in Idaho Falls sang Christmas carols too. 

“They got to decorate Christmas cookies together. I had one mom tell me that this was the first time that she’s ever decorated cookies with her child and that really stuck with me,” Taylor-Thompson said. “There were mothers who told me that this was one of the best times that they ever got with their children. … It’s one of the best memories that they will ever hold.”

According to Prison Fellowship, Angel Tree Christmas mobilizes local churches to give hundreds of thousands of children a gift, the gospel message and a personal message of love on behalf of their incarcerated parent.

“There is so much emotional pain of a loved one’s incarceration, and it gets so much more intense during the holidays,” Taylor-Thompson said. “So this is just an absolutely breathtaking way to see how these moms and children get to bond. It was really beautiful to see these kids smile and laugh.”

There are opportunities to help volunteer with Angel Tree Christmas. Click here to learn how to get involved. 

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