These kids brought Christmas kindness to a picket line in central Newfoundland

It's the little things that sometimes mean the most this time of year — and, as postal workers recently discovered, when children and music are added to the mix, it led to a warming of hearts on a cold picket line.

The Exploits Valley local of CUPW in Grand Falls-Windsor was treated to a visit from the Play, Learn and Grow child-care centre earlier this month.

The visit came when workers were still on strike and before a return to work order that took effect Tuesday. 

"You're out there, you're in the cold, sometimes you feel like you're not being acknowledged, even though you're getting the horn honks and the donations and people telling you," said local president Belinda Reid.

"When someone actually shows up on your picket line and you see 20 children there and they're all excited to see you waving, it really shows you what the true meaning of Christmas is."

Canada Post has a tradition of ensuring children's letters to Santa make it to the North Pole. 

When the postal service was interrupted with a work stoppage this fall, many unionized workers decided to maintain the service while striking. When the owners of the daycare heard the news, they knew the children wouldn't want to pass up the opportunity to have their letters sent.

Carrie Cave is an early childhood educator and co-owner of the daycare.

"We've been open for 13 years, and every year we write the Santa letters with the childrer and they walk down into the post office and put their letters in the mailbox and visit the postal workers," she said.

"We did a thank you card to the postal workers for leaving the letters, and they were really excited to bring it down to them with the coffee and the donuts."

When the children arrived, they performed a Christmas song they had rehearses for the occasion.

"It got them in the Christmas spirit because, of course, being on strike and not knowing what Christmas is going to look like for their family, it just kind of shows the true meaning of Christmas," Cave said.

"It definitely makes you feel good when we go out and we do carols and sing for different businesses sometimes, and we'll deliver cards and candy canes on people's cars and just little thoughtful things to show the kids that you know how important it is to be kind during Christmas."

The Canada Industrial Relations Board ordered a return to work for postal workers as the weekend ended.

This complies with an order from federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon, who directed the board to order 55,000 striking workers back to work.

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