Bright Nights, Big Giving: Your Mid-December Seasonal Scoop

We’re unwrapping the stories shaping our community this season. From the 30th Annual Toy Project—where local police and fire crews team up to brighten holidays for hundreds of families—to the sparkling traditions of Light Up Elk Grove and the Historical Society’s Old-Fashioned Christmas, there’s no shortage of hometown magic. We’ll spotlight ways to shop local with the City’s eGift Card program, share smart tips for keeping your holiday deliveries safe, and point you to convenient drop-off sites for recycling worn-out lights and oversized décor. Tune in for a cheerful blend of celebration, service, and sustainability.

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Transcript

Kristyn Nelson: Thanks for tuning into the Elk Grove CityCast, the podcast about Elk Grove, California. I'm Kristyn Nelson, Elk Grove’s Public Affairs and Communications Manager. And with the help of artificial intelligence, we're rolling out new episodes that dive into the relevant topics, events, and happenings within our city.

We're using technology to provide you with new resources that will help you to stay informed and connect with the community at the time and with the tools that you prefer. So whether you have a passion for podcasts or print material, subscribe to social media or dig into digital. We want to be a source for local information that's valuable to you.

Now, without further ado, let me turn it over to our AI friends for a deeper dive into this week's topics. 

AI-leen: Welcome back to the Deep Dive. Today we're doing something we really love to do here. We're taking what looks like a really narrow local source, in this case, a community update from Elk Grove about the holiday season. And we're gonna use it as, you know, a sort of microcosm to understand some much, much bigger trends.

AI-den: I think that's exactly right. 

AI-leen: Our mission here is, I think, pretty clear. We wanna see how a modern city, and really it could be any city, navigates this incredibly complex time of year. 

AI-den: You get so much going on. 

AI-leen: Exactly. You're trying to balance these festive traditions, support the local economy, and also, you know, handle some really high stakes public safety issues.

AI-den: And these official communications, they're the best place to look. They tell you exactly where the priorities are. Not the theory, but the actual practice on the ground. 

AI-leen: And for you listening, this is immediately practical. This isn't just news. The source is full of actionable tips you can use no matter where you live.

Okay, let's unpack this. We should probably start where the citydoes with the real heart of the community stuff. The generosity. 

AI-den: Yeah. And they lead the huge one, the 30th annual toy project. 

AI-leen: 30 years. That's a massive milestone. 

AI-den: It is, especially for a partnership between the police department and the Cosumnes Fire Department.

AI-leen: I mean, that longevity says so much. It's not just a one-off drive. It's this entrenched part of the community fabric now. 

AI-den: And when you look at the numbers from last year, you really see the scale. 

AI-leen: You do.Give us those numbers again because they're pretty powerful. 

AI-den: Okay, so last year alone. They helped over 300 children. 

AI-leen: 300 

AI-den: and 133 families.

AI-leen: Wow. 

AI-den: And they delivered more than 2,500 gifts. 

AI-leen: That's a serious operation. 

AI-den: It is. And here's the detail I love. 12 bicycles. 

AI-leen: Ah, see that number is so specific. It's not just the statistic. That's a huge transformative gift for a kid. 

AI-den: It really is. And you have to think about the structure here. 

Why police and fire? Right. It's because they have this citywide reach, established logistics and you know, a really high level of public trust. 

AI-leen: So they're leveraging that trust. 

AI-den: They're leveraging operational trust for charitable gain. It's brilliant and they're pushing it hard this year. For the 30th anniversary, the update points you write to the city website, ElkGrove.gov for dropoff locations and how to volunteer 

AI-leen: an active call to action.

AI-den: Exactly. And then they shift from that kind of philanthropy to, uh, celebrating diverse traditions. 

AI-leen: Yeah. And they highlight two really different events here, which I found interesting. 

AI-den: Mm-hmm. 

AI-leen: First on the cultural side, you've got the fourth annual Light Up Elk Grove, 

AI-den: Hosted by Chabad of Elk Grove. 

AI-leen: Yeah. 

AI-den: And the city sponsors it, which is a big deal. It's free. 

AI-leen: That signals major institutional support. 

AI-den: It does, and the details are all there. Sunday, December 14th at the Old Town Plaza, they have a nine foot LED Menorah. And they're offering free latkes and donuts. Yeah. That's not just a small detail, that's a strategy to get people to come, to engage, to remove any, you know, economic barrier to joining in.

AI-leen: And then on the flip side of that, you have the historical tradition, 

AI-den: right? The Elk Grove Historical Society's Old-Fashioned Christmas. 

AI-leen: So one is about current cultural expression, and this one is more about preservation, a sense of nostalgia. 

AI-den: And it uses a totally different model. It's not about just free access, it's about creating a really immersive high quality experience.

AI-leen: And it sounds amazing. The grounds are all decorated. They have a parade of trees that local nonprofits decorate. 

AI-den: Another layer of community engagement right there. 

AI-leen: And here's the kicker. They have a kid's playland with actual snow, 

AI-den: Snow. In Elk Grove. I mean, think about the logistics of that. 

AI-leen: That's a serious investment in the experience.

AI-den: It is, and so unlike the free event. This one has an entry fee, $10 for adults, five for kids. 

AI-leen: Which makes sense given the cost. 

AI-den: It shows the city supports different models. You have the free access model and the specialized ticketed experience. It's just, it's smart management. 

AI-leen: That's a perfect pivot actually. That whole idea of different models. Mm-hmm. Because the next thing, the update covers is the city's role as an economic driver. 

AI-den: Right. We're shifting from the feel-good stuff to direct commercial support. 

AI-leen: They do it with a really specific tool, the Elk Grove Local e-gift card. 

AI-den: Which is such a smart way to tackle the problem of how do you keep money local when everyone's shopping online, 

AI-leen: and this isn't some small thing, we're talking about over 110 participating businesses, 

AI-den: 110.That's huge. 

AI-leen: It gives the person receiving the card. Tons of flexibility, but every single dollar spent is locked into Elk Grove. It stays right there. 

AI-den: It's a closed loop system. It makes a local gift card as flexible as say a Visa gift card, but with geographic limits. Yeah, all that money just multiplies within the local economy.

AI-leen: You buy it online at supportlocaleg.org. You spend it in Elk Grove, simple.

AI-den: Direct stimulus wrapped up as a holiday gift, 

AI-leen: But you know, all that online shopping brings us to the darker side of things and 

AI-den: the inevitable counterbalance 

AI-leen: protection and the update spends a lot of time on porch pirates.

AI-den: Here's where it gets really interesting, Because they don't just say, be careful. They give you a whole system of preventative strategies, hierarchy of security, really. 

AI-leen: Okay. Let's walk through them. What's the most basic tip? 

AI-den: Tip one is the simplest. Schedule delivery for when you're home or send it to your work 

AI-leen: Easy, but 

AI-den: Right.

AI-leen: Not always practical. 

AI-den: Exactly. Yeah. Not everyone has a predictable schedule or an office that allows that anymore. 

AI-leen: So what's the next level? 

AI-den: Well, tip two is to use a trusted neighbor, the human solution. 

AI-leen: Right. And then tip three is more of a tech solution for Amazon packages. Use their locker locations.

AI-den: That's a key distinction. One relies on trust the other on secure infrastructure. For something really high value, they push tip four. Require signature, 

AI-leen: The ultimate security measure, but it's a hassle. You miss the driver. You're driving to the depot, 

AI-den: you're trading convenience for security. 

AI-leen: And the last two are about being proactive, right?

AI-den: Tip five is giving specific instructions, like leave it behind the pillar, you know, outta sight from the road. And six is just signing up for delivery alerts. So you know, the second it's dropped off. 

AI-leen: It's a pretty comprehensive list. The goal isn't just to record the theft on your doorbell camera, 

AI-den: right? The goal is to make the theft impossible in the first place, 

AI-leen: But theft still happens, and they have a really critical point about what to do after. 

AI-den: Yes, they are adamant. If a package is stolen. File a police report immediately. Do not wait. It's crucial for insurance, but more importantly, it helps the police track patterns in real time. 

AI-leen: and then they give this one warning that I have to say it was pretty surprising.

AI-den: This is the most vital piece of safety info in the whole document. I think. 

AI-leen: What is it? 

AI-den: They warn you to watch out for cars that are literally following delivery vans through neighborhoods. 

AI-leen: Whoa. So this isn't just someone walking by and grabbing a package? 

AI-den: No, this is organized. These are thieves shadowing the drivers, hitting house after house right after the van leaves. It's a coordinated criminal enterprise 

AI-leen: that changes everything. It means you're not just securing your own stuff. You have to be a community observer. 

AI-den: You do. And they give the number. The non-emergency line for suspicious activity. 

AI-den: But they also say if you see a crime actually in progress, call 9 1 1. That's a serious warning for a holiday newsletter. 

AI-leen: Okay. So we've covered celebration, the economy and protection, and now we get to the fourth role. The city plays the post-holiday logistics, 

AI-den: the cleanup. The least glamorous part, but from a systems perspective may be the most complicated. 

AI-leen: Yeah. The holidays create so much waste and the update focuses on one really specific problem item. 

AI-den: Broken string lights, 

AI-leen: and the directive is super clear. Recycle them, but do not just toss 'em in your regular trash or the curbside recycling bin. 

AI-den: And the why here is the really interesting part. 

AI-leen: Okay, so why is that? What's the big deal with a few old lights? 

AI-den: They're what? Recycling facilities called tanglers. 

AI-leen: Tanglers. 

AI-den: Yeah. All that flexible wire and plastic. It gets into the giant automated sorting machinery. It just wraps itself around all the gears. 

AI-leen: Oh, I see. So it literally gums up the works. 

AI-den: It shuts the entire system down. For hours. It's a huge expensive headache for them. So they have to be collected separately. 

AI-leen: And the guidelines are specific about what this special facility takes, 

AI-den: right? They accept the string lights themselves, obviously. And also those large lighted decorations. You know, the big inflatables or light up sculptures…

AI-leen: with electrical parts. 

AI-den: Exactly. But here's the key exclusion. They do not accept lighted or artificial trees. 

AI-leen: That seems counterintuitive. They're full of lights.

AI-den: It's a logistical thing. An artificial tree is a huge, complex item. It's got PVC plastic, a metal spine, maybe wood, and all that wiring. It's a composite material, 

AI-leen: so it needs a different breakdown process. 

AI-den: A completely different industrial process.  The special waste collection center is for the electrical components. Not for big, bulky items like trees, 

AI-leen: and they give you the exact location because you have to physically take it there. It's not a curbside pickup. 

AI-den: Yeah, you have to drive to 9255 Disposal Lane. Detail right there shows the whole challenge to sustainability. Right? Compliance depends on individual effort. The convenient thing. Just tossing it in a bin clashes directly with the responsible way to dispose of it. So if we, you know, if we connect this all to the bigger picture. This one local update from Elk Grove just gave us this incredible four-part snapshot of how a modern city has to operate.

AI-leen: Yeah, it really did. 

AI-den: You see the deep commitment to community support with that 30-year toy project? You see the breadth of cultural and historical events they're backing 

AI-leen: the direct economic action with the e-gift card. 

AI-den: And then the really nitty gritty tactical advice on public safety and waste management. It's all there. 

AI-leen: It really is a blueprint for, you know, making the most of the season while minimizing the chaos. And just a quick reminder for you, if you live there, you can sign up for these weekly updates every Monday at elkgrove.gov. 

AI-den: I mean, the whole thing just reveals a local government that has to be all at once. A community organizer, a crime prevention agency, an economic development driver, and a waste management consultant. 

AI-leen: All four at the same time. 

AI-den: And that I think raises a really important question for you, the modern community member. As you absorb all this, you have to ask yourself, which of those four roles, celebration, protection, economy, or logistics, is ultimately the most important source of knowledge and support for you during this time of year?

AI-leen: That's a fascinating question. 

AI-den: There's something for you to chew on as you move through your own holiday season and you know, we'd see how your own community operates.

Kristyn Nelson: Thank you for listening to the Elk Grove CityCast. Tune in again soon for another deep dive into the news events and happenings around the City of Elk Grove. Like what we're doing? Please rate, review, and subscribe to the show to help spread the word to other audiophiles. Want more news before the next episode? Follow the City of Elk Grove on social media. You can find us on X, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Nextdoor. Or get our news delivered directly to your inbox by signing up for the city's weekly email update at elkgrove.gov. Thanks again for listening For the City of Elk Grove, I'm Kristyn Nelson.