Glastonbury

Three Kings Day Party Brings Families With DCF Cases Together

The event at the pop-up Olive Branch Toy Shop let kids play together and take home toys.

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Three Kings Day is Friday and for many families across Connecticut, especially in Latino households, it is a day of gifts, tradition and celebration.

The holiday commemorates the day that the Maji brought gifts to baby Jesus.

The festivities got underway early in Glastonbury, where the Department of Children and Families (DCF) held a party Thursday night at their pop-up Olive Branch Toy Shop.

With crowns, crafts, snacks and gifts, the Three Kings Day celebration had kids dancing and playing.

“We have this opportunity to have this space to offer free toys and gifts to children who have an open DCF case to families,“ DCF's Jacqueline Ford said.

All the toys at the shop were donated so that families working with DCF had the chance to take home gifts for free during a Christmas celebration last month.

“We had so many toys and gifts leftover that we thought it'd be a great opportunity to invite families back in,” Ford said.

Two-year-old Elias made the most of Three Kings Day.

“He just is running around like a maniac,” his mom Lori Catubig, of Glastonbury, said.

Elias spent most of the night with a friend and a toy truck, along with giving his mom big kisses.

“His personality is really big. He is just the perfect addition to our family,” Lori said.

Lori and her husband Jay officially made Elias part of the family on National Adoption Day in November.

“The emotions were running high," she said.

It came after Lori went through multiple failed rounds of IVF. Then, the couple found exactly what they were looking for in the little boy.

“Met him and just fell in love instantly,” she said.

Elias was born with a medical complication that leaves him unable to use one arm, but Lori welcomed the chance to use her experience as an occupational therapist to give him all the specialized care he needs.

“Now we know why we couldn't have conceived our own - because he was meant to be ours. That's truly what we believe,” Lori said.

The holiday gathering also means a lot to mom Ashley May-Williams and her four kids.

“When they found out that they got to design their own little crowns and stuff, they were just all on board with it,” May-Williams said.

When the single mom previously had struggles with drinking, she got connected with DCF to go through an extensive home rehab program.

“My kids got to see the work that I did,” May-Williams said. “They trust me because I have proven that, you know, I've put in the work.”

Now the family is celebrating together, enjoying new toys and a chance to play.

“This holiday season has formed such beautiful connections,” Ford said.

The Three Kings Day party, also allowed these families to share in the holiday spirit.

“I wouldn't be here if it weren't for people giving back, and helping out, and lending a hand,” May-Williams said.

Ford says DCF has been overwhelmed with toy donations from the community, which allowed them to host the Three Kings Day party. They hope to get more throughout the year so that they can continue to open up the Olive Branch Toy Shop for different events.

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