LOWER LAKE, Calif. – At age 8, Brighton Wood is but a boy. But his spirit of Christmas is full grown.
As witness there are all those colorfully wrapped presents under the stately “Angel Tree,” at Small Town Ceramics on Main Street in Lower Lake.
Brighton and his family put them there for the “Angels,” as the 20 local and lesser-privileged children who will receive the presents in the Angel Tree program are known.
For all his legendary generosity Santa Claus couldn't have done it better.
Brighton did it by baking and selling cookies. Hundreds of them.
As Rachelle Sapeta, a co-owner of Small Town Ceramics, tells the story, she received a message from Brighton's mother, Rachelle Wood, “that Brighton wanted to put his baking skills to work and adopt all 20 of our Angels. That is exactly what he did.”
It was about two and a half months ago, said Rachelle Wood, “when Brighton said, 'Mommie, can we bake?' I contacted Rachelle (Sapeta) … and we took the names of the Angels off the tree and decided we'd make cookies for all of them.”
Each of the 20 Angels will receive three gifts as well as a box of Brighton's cookies.
The task that Brighton set for himself also included a two-day bake sale at Hardester's Market in Hidden Valley Lake, where the John Wood family – Brighton, his 6-year-old sister Brooklyn, Rachelle and John – reside.
“We earned over $800 so that we could buy gifts for the 20 kids,” said Rachelle. “We had some very nice people who wouldn't even take the baked goods. They just gave donations and utensils to bake with. They also contributed baked goods to the sale.
“Now Brighton says it is something that he would like to continue to do. We plan to hold several bake sales next year and raise the money to buy presents that way.”
Brighton, a third grader at the Catholic school in Middletown, said his first experience with baking was at the beginning of the present school year. His father, John, helped him get started.
Brighton's reason for taking on a project that has consumed a lot of time when he could have been playing with other kids?
“I just wanted to do this for people who can't afford presents,” he said. “Snickerdoodles were the first cookies I made. They came out pretty good.
“For the bake sale I made sugar cookies peanut butter cookies, chocolate chip, raisin and Andes peppermint crunch,” he added.
“It took three days to make them,” said his mother.
Rachelle Sapeta said her ceramics store has been involved with the Angel Tree program for the last three years.
“Each year we team with Lake Church and adopt local kids through the program,” she explained. “Our customers will adopt a child or two or three and shop for gifts for them.”
The youngsters served by the program range from first graders to 17 years of age.
Brighton is already committed to baking cookies for Christmas 2014.
As an enterprising lad, he has established a “Brighton's Goodies for Good” page on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/brightonsgoodies .
“Next year he'll bake for 30 kids, about 20 from Angel Tree and 10 from his daddy's work at Calpine,” said mom Rachelle.
So does Brighton have his eyes set on a career as a baker?
“Not really,” he said. “But I'm really into baking this year.”
Email John Lindblom at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .