Chris Smith: The gifts at Thursday’s welcome-home celebration are bread, salt and wine

Today at a welcome-home celebration near Windsor, survivors of the 2017 fires will receive keys to five new cottages built by the Homes for Sonoma coalition.

Key project benefactor Pam Hamel dreamed up the film-?inspired gifts that will be presented to folks who’ll live in the 480-square-foot mini-rentals. Hamel, you probably needn’t be told, is with Hamel Family Wines of Sonoma Valley and the Hamel/Fogerty Fund.

She will give the residents baskets containing the same three items that Donna Reed and Jimmy Stewart handed to folks helped into homes in “It’s a Wonderful Life”:

Bread, “so that this house may never know hunger.” Salt, “so that life may always have flavor.” And wine, “so that joy and prosperity may reign forever.”

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WRAP IT UP! If gift-?wrapping is misery to you, and if you’d savor an easy way to donate for the benefit of people in need, are you in luck.

At Montgomery Village there’s a gift-wrapping station staffed by volunteers with local nonprofits. You can carry in your gifts, drop a few bucks for a good cause and enjoy the holiday ambiance while somebody wraps your presents.

It’s happening in a vacant storefront at 2416 Magowan Drive.

YWCA Sonoma County is having guest wrappers work a shift here and there. I’ll be there from 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday.

What do I know about gift-wrapping? Precious little, but I’ll have help.

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FOR THE CARRIERS: All of us who delivered newspapers on bikes as kids remember the rush of collecting door to door in December and having many subscribers shower us with holiday tips.

Today we may never see the adult carriers who deliver the PD early - early and from cars. So it’s easy to forget to tip them.

If you don’t have your carrier’s mailing address, you can call our circulation department and arrange to send a tip electronically.

Many carriers place a holiday card and return address in their newspapers. In west Santa Rosa, 16-year carrier Ray Lutman noted in his greeting that he’s been homeless since April.

Subscriber Dave Fahrner read Lutman’s note and was moved not only to mail a gift, but to plan a garage sale from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday at his home on Sunny View Way, off Guerneville Road.

Fahrner will encourage neighbors to donate and/or purchase stuff for sale, and he’ll give every dime raised to newspaper delivery guy Lutman.

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BADGES AND BELLS: This Saturday, several Santa Rosa police officers and Sonoma County sheriff’s deputies will engage in a friendly, charitable competition outside a couple of Safeway supermarkets.

SRPD officers will ring bells alongside a Salvation Army holiday kettle at the Safeway on Santa Rosa’s Yulupa Avenue.

Sheriff’s deputies will accept donations to the Salvation Army from in front of the Safeway on north Mendocino Avenue.

Clearly, each team of first responders hopes to bring in the most money for local families and individuals served by the Salvation Army.

The officers and deputies will be at their posts on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Can’t decide which team will receive your coins or bills? There’s no law against pitching in to both.

You can contact columnist Chris Smith at 707-521-5211 and chris.smith@pressdemocrat.com.