Festive Celtics Sing Christmas Carols At Boston Children's Hospital
BOSTON (CBS) -- The Boston Celtics spread some holiday cheer at Boston Children's Hospital on Thursday.
Trading in their jerseys and shorts for some much more festive attire, players and coaches participated in a handful of fun activities with patients, including an arts and crafts session where they built some impressive gingerbread houses.
Brad Stevens had a giant Christmas tree on his head. Isaiah Thomas had antlers. Al Horford was sporting some giant gold sunglasses. But the highlight was the team's caroling session, singing along to holiday hits such as Jingle Bells and Rudolph:
Rookie Jaylen Brown even had a little solo session:
"This has been a great tradition for our team," said head coach Brad Stevens. "Our guys do a great job of being out in the community with a number of different things. But the idea of being together, at one of Boston's best institutions in regard of taking care of, not only New England residents but residents from all over the world, and celebrating and bringing some additional spirit to the holiday season is a really important thing to do together."
"I think it's special, the fact we can come out here and spend some time with the kids here. Just to put a smile on their faces and hang out a little bit; get to talk to them and maybe distract them from a lot of the things they're dealing with," said Horford. "It's awesome we take the time out to spend time with these kids, encourage them and help them any way we can."
Guard Avery Bradley, who had an oversized Santa hat atop his head for the entire afternoon, said the players look forward to the event more than the kids.
"It's really important for us to be part of the Boston community. It's all about giving back to the children and spending time with them. There is no better opportunity than coming to the Children's Hospital and spending the day with them," he said. "I love coming here; this is like my second home. I know the staff here and for us to be a part of this, I can speak for the entire team and say we look forward to this more than the kids. I'm happy that we're here and able to just spend time, laugh and get ready for Christmas time. That's what it's all about."
Marcus Smart may have even found a new addition to his daily attire: giant Christmas Tree glasses.
"It makes the kids laugh because we look goofy to them. I like them, it fits my style," he said with a smile.
While the Celtics may have looked, and certainly sounded, goofy at times, the smiles were aplenty on Thursday afternoon.
"That's what it's about this time of the year," said guard Isaiah Thomas. "It's everything. Not even for them but for us. This is humbling, this is stuff I think we need to do more. I love being a part of events like this and the Celtics do a great job with this, especially with the kids."
