Santa's coming to the Poulton household two weeks early this year because Dad is going to be in Afghanistan for Christmas.
For Sherrilynn Poulton, celebrating Christmas this weekend with her husband Chris and 8-year-old son Liam in their Chilliwack, B.C. home is all part of being the wife of a Canadian Forces captain.
"You can't always go with what's happening, whether it's birthdays, anniversaries or things," she told Â鶹´«Ã½. "So we're just doing Christmas early, kind of get our presents a little bit early."
Chris Poulton will be part of a force of 950 soldiers in Afghanistan serving a non-combat role, which is mainly training the Afghan army.
"I'm deploying in about a week's time, heading over to Kabul," he said.
With 2,500 military personnel out of the country this holiday season, Sears Canada has stepped in to connect Canadians with soldiers overseas with a campaign called Operation Wish.
In downtown Vancouver Sears store, Bill Morgan was among dozens of shoppers signing a giant banner that will be sent to the troops for Christmas. It is special for him because his son is in Afghanistan.
"It's still a war zone and that's what we have to remember," he said as he wrote a holiday message on the banner, which will be sent to the crew aboard the HMCS Vancouver, which is stationed in the Mediterranean.
Banners from four other store locations will be shipped elsewhere: Belleville to Kuwait and Edmonton, Quebec City and Fredericton to Kabul. The banners will be in stores until Sunday.
For those who can't get to a Sears store, Operation Wish has a website where Canadians can post video, photos or written greetings to the troops, www.sears.ca/operationwish.
While the Poulton family won't have Dad this year on Dec. 25, the good news is he should be home next Christmas because his deployment to Afghanistan is for 10 months.
With files from CTV's Vancouver Bureau Chief Sarah Galashan
