CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Inside of My Mimi's Kitchen, you'll find a Christmas tree.
But what makes this tree unique is that not only does it have ornaments, but it is also decorated with paper tags that are filled with Christmas wishes. Not just from kids, but from the entire family as well.
Julia Mills, owner of My Mimi's Kitchen, said she wanted to do things differently by helping both the kids and the families.
"The kids are excited, they're like "oh my gosh I got a present" but they still feel the stress of their family," Mills said. "There are still things that are going on whether it be bills, whether it be food, whether it be something- like the car broke down. That affects the children as well. So if the whole unit is not okay, the kids are still going to be in a stressful situation. So I wanted to make not only about the children but also the families behind it."
While Mills is allowing people to sponsor families and kids in her restaurant, she decided to team up with Nate Gonzalez, a selfless ten-year-old boy that started his own nonprofit 3 years ago to help under privileged children.
"I want to make them feel loved and appreciated and [know] someones got their back so much. Because they deserve to feel that way," Gonzalez said.
In a partnership between the restaurant and Nate, "Breakfast with Santa" was born. If you bring a toy to donate, you can take a photo with Santa, before he gets ready to take flight with his reindeer in a few weeks.
"Santa is coming to sit down and eat breakfast and take pictures before his long flight, around the world," Gonzalez said.
But the kindness didn't stop there. H-E-B is also contributing to the Christmas magic.
"H-E-B has agreed to donate $1500 to families that we have to be able to give them gift cards as a donation for them to buy groceries and things like that," Mills said.
One local couple, Brandon and Mandy Upton, decided to sponsor a family during their visit to the restaurant.
"It's different and it's not just children that are struggling. The mothers and fathers are struggling too. Everybody's struggling and this is a different take on a way to give back and I think it's great," Brandon said.
"There are alot of struggling families and there's a lot of pressure around this time of year and we want to help as much and as often as we can," Mandy added.
Breakfast With Santa will take place on Dec. 16 from 8 to 11 a.m.
My Mimi's Kitchensaid the deadline to sponsor someone is Dec. 22 and that you can visit their restaurant or message them on Facebook to sponsor.
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