Neil Mac Donald of Magnolia is not, of course, Santa Claus. But for the past 25 years, the hundreds of families and children to whom he’s helped provide a better Christmas may not know the difference.

What began in 1986 with a sole donation box at Goodson’s Café in Tomball has grown into one of the largest holiday giving projects in the local community, and one that founder Mac Donald likes to keep “low-key and a grassroots effort.”

While working at Goodson’s 25 years ago, Mac Donald asked owner Jimmy Fogarty if he could place a drop box for toys near the restaurants entrance so that he may give whatever was donated back to struggling families in the Tomball and Magnolia area.

Fogarty agreed and the program that would eventually be re-named the Tomball-Magnolia Christmas Cheer Project was born.

Today, the Christmas Cheer Project is an official 501c3 organization, with a board of directors and tax-exempt status. Mac Donald estimates that this year, more than 70 families have signed up, a number that he expects to increase as Christmas draws closer.

The program is by no means an elaborate operation. Mac Donald carries with him a worn yellow folder, overfilled with registration forms, notes, phone number, addresses and countless names.

Pictured, Neil Mac Donald in his Magnolia home with a few of the toys he will donate to local children this week.

The hub for the operation is his own home: everywhere Christmas gifts are piled, dolls, remote control cars, footballs, basketballs, soccer balls, robots, stuffed animals, toy trains, and large black bags that hold any number of goodies. No doubt tucked away somewhere safely is a Santa Claus suit.

Mac Donald’s home is essentially the North Pole of Magnolia.

What makes the Christmas Cheer Project unique is its simplicity.

Mac Donald utilizes the typical avenues for procuring families and children for his project: TEAM, SOS, local churches and charities. But it’s the word-of-mouth message of Mac Donald’s charity that sits at the root of the effort.

“I ran into a woman at the store the other day who recognized me and gave me the name of a family,” he said. “That’s how this works.”

Almost on cue, a young Hispanic girl bounds through the door of his Hazy Hollow home, drops a neatly written note in front of Mac Donald: “Por Santa,” the note began, and followed with a list of meager gifts she and her brothers and sisters would like for Christmas.

Mac Donald, who recently retired as a college teacher in English, Spanish and Latin America, simply says “Gracias” as the girl scampers back to her home.

“That happens often,” he says.

Mac Donald added that several years ago a neighbor, after hearing of the Cheer program, agreed to donate a few bicycles to the cause. That first year, Mac Donald said his neighbor gave him eight bicycles. Each year that number increases and Mac Donald said he received 20 from his friend this year.

Other major donors include the Tomball Lions Club, of which Mac Donald is a member, the Concordia Lutheran National Honor Society, Lone Star College-Tomball, St. Matthias Catholic Church, Cyntha Keating at Tomball Ford and Hawg Hallow, which hosted a chili cook-off this year to raise money.

Not only does Mac Donald utilize the typical family-registry format for his donation program, he also annually returns to the origins of the project’s beginnings: giving toys to the children at Tomball Regional Hospital on Christmas Eve, as well as residents of Tomball Nursing Center, to whom he donates stuffed animals.

“This is my Christmas,” he said. “I love to see the glow in the eyes of the kids when they open their gifts.”

For more information about the Christmas Cheer Program, call Mac Donald at 281-221-9539 or e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . To donate, send to TM Christmas Cheer Project Inc., 30943 Sunflower Lane, Magnolia, TX 77354.

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