Krys Midgett shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Good morning Krys , we’re so happy to have you here with us and we’d love to explore your story and how you think about life and legacy and so much more. So let’s start with a question we often ask: What is something outside of work that is bringing you joy lately?
Outside of my magazine and my Christmas charity, I find joy in many things. I love making crafts, especially glass-etching. I am a songwriter and I find an enormous amount of joy cowriting with Olivia and other friends. I especially find joy in listening to her sing our songs. I find joy in watching cheesy chic flicks and Hallmark Christmas movies.
I find the most joy in spending time with my family. I love going places with my mom and sisters. I love playing Pokémon Go with my hubby, kids, and grandkids.
It’s easy to find joy. I have a great life, full of love.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Hello, I’m Krys Midgett. I’m also referred to as Bubbles The Elf.
I wear many hats. Mom, Nana (my favorite), journalist, lyricist, editor, philanthropist, Santa’’s Head Elf, event organizer, food critic, ambassador, and the list goes on. I probably have a closet full of hats, figuratively. My actual closet is full of sundresses, cocktail and Red Carpet, Christmas elf outfits, and a very small section of my hubby’s clothes.
Here’s a bit about me. In order to learn all about me, I’d probably have an autobiography that’s longer than the James Joyce novel, Ulysses.
For the purpose of this article, we will stick to my biggest passion, my Christmas charity, Give A Little Christmas, and magazine, Life Between The Lakes.
Give A Little Christmas was started in 2012. We signed up under our nonprofit umbrella, ACT, Intl. In 2016. In the 13 years that we’ve been going, we have helped over 7000 kids have a good Christmas.
We do several fundraisers throughout the year. We have two Christmas-themed murder mysteries, a craft fair tor drive called Craftfare Before Christmas, a big Christmas party for the kids on our list, and our biggest fundraiser of the year, Cocktails With Santa. It’s a red carpet gala on the first Sunday in December.
Life Between The Lakes is the fifth magazine that I created, with help, of course. I started this community magazine with Olivia West Hedges. I had music magazines before this one. It was specifically created to help promote Give A Little Christmas.
Thanks for sharing that. Would love to go back in time and hear about how your past might have impacted who you are today. What part of you has served its purpose and must now be released?
This is a hard question, but I took this course from Christa Price, called Mountains of Joy, and it taught me a lot about myself. My business coach, Doug Eberhart, also helps a lot with this.
We all have these saboteurs, they have pros and cons. Mine are specifically the Pleaser and the Avoider.
I have always had an overwhelming need to ‘save the world’ and, sometimes, to my own detriment.
As a young child, my dream was to be actress (because I thought they were all rich) so I could have a big house and move in all of the homeless and help them get clothes and jobs, all of the babies without families and all of the stray animals.
Well, all of my life, we essentially did move in people who were down on their luck. We have had a large number of chosen family we’ve added over the years. And don’t get me started on the number of rescues we either adopted or they showed up at our home. Oh, I have also done some acting, so I essentially achieved my childhood dream.
So, back to the question at hand. I have to release some of my pleaser and my avoider tendencies. Life is short and I need to go by the saying that charity begins at home. I’ve been told that I can’t help others if I don’t take care of myself.
So, it’s time to release putting others needs before my own. I have to take time for my health and we’ll-being. That also includes my family’s health and well-being. I will always help others, because it is so rewarding but I also am learning to say NO more often.
What have been the defining wounds of your life—and how have you healed them?
When I was 13, my dad passed away in a boating accident. This left mom a widow with four kids and no money. We had just moved back to Linden, Tennessee. We had planned to build a house on my grandparents property. Instead, they created a cemetery where our house was going to be, and daddy was the first resident.
I miss my dad all of the time. He was my Superman. That was my first real loss. Healing takes time but my dad had an amazing sense of humor. They say laughter is the best medicine, that and music. We shared jokes and his favorite music. My baby sister was only 14 months old, so I always told her funny memories about dad and shared all his favorite music.
Mom was a rockstar when it came to resilience. She moved closer to her older sister and they started a business together. We always had financial struggles growing up, but we never needed for anything. We also helped others. It’s a family trait.
It’s been 39 years since we lost him. Now I honor him with humor and songs. Olivia West Hedges and I wrote a song called ‘Let it kill ya’ about our dads. She lost hers at 15.
Another thing I do to lighten the mood when the subject of loss comes up and we need to transition out of that tone is make people laugh. After talking about dad dying in a boating accident, I say “well, daddy always said he wanted to die doing one of his two favorite F words.” Then I pause and say “mama said she was glad it was fishin’” and then the laughter ensues. I mean, daddy probably did say that. My Uncle David said that daddy would appreciate making people laugh for so many decades after he’s been gone.
Next, maybe we can discuss some of your foundational philosophies and views? Is the public version of you the real you?
My husband has said that I overshare. I’m sure that is true about me. I say that I’d rather be too honest than dishonest.
The public me is the real me. In the other question, I said that I had done some acting. That is true – but I didn’t say I was good at it. I can’t lie to save my life.
I say dumb things when they come into my head. I sometimes say inappropriate jokes because I have 12 year old boy humor.
I don’t like gossip, so I’m great at keeping secrets. Part of that is I probably will forget what they told me. I am terrible about having secrets of my own.
Ask me a question and you’ll not only get the answer, but, probably a long story to go with it. Plus 15 other stories related to something that was said or that came into my head.
Okay, so let’s keep going with one more question that means a lot to us: Are you doing what you were born to do—or what you were told to do?
I believe in my heart, that I am doing what I was born to do.
I love helping others. When we had very little, I still felt the need to give to those who had less.
Give A Little Christmas is the most rewarding thing that I’ve ever created. It’s a direct outlet for me. I don’t do this charity because I think it’s selfless. It is not a selfless act. I love that so many kids and families wake up Christmas morning to lots of presents under the tree. That overwhelming joy that I get on Christmas morning, when parents text or email me photos of their kids’ happy faces after Santa came. That’s what I spend all of the months, days and hours working for. If you’ve never felt that joy, you are missing out. It’s not a pat myself on the back, look at what I did, kinda moment. It’s a look at what our team of elves, sponsors, volunteers and our community accomplished. There is nothing better than that.
I still need help on the fundraising aspect because there aren’t enough funds to have any paid positions. I’d like to get there. I want the charity to be here even after I can’t do it anymore. I want it to be my legacy, but I can’t expect someone to put in the time and effort it takes to make it happen, as a volunteer.
So, it’s time to figure out how to establish a salary. When that happens, I’ll likely still use it to buy toys to give to the kids on the charity list, but it will be an established salary for a future director.
Contact Info:
- Website: www..givealittlenashville.com
- Instagram: @givealittlechristmas
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/krys-midgett
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/givealittlechristmas
- Other: TikTok – @whatiskrysuptonow
www.lifebetweenthelakes.com
Image Credits
Ashley Elaine Unverzagt
Robin Holcomb
LaLa Photography Nashville
