The line to sit on Santa’s lap and pick out a toy stretched halfway across the meeting room at the American Legion Hall Post 72 in Cheney on Dec. 19 as kids waited excitedly to tell Mr. Claus what they wanted for Christmas.
Happy shrieks of small children bounced off the walls and around the brightly decorated room, decked out with long tables featuring holiday crafts for kids to try.
Infants, teenagers and kids of every age in between decorated sugar cookies, made candy cane ornaments and painted paper gingerbread men.
The American Legion hosts their Kid’s Christmas Party every year, and every child that walks in leaves with at least one toy — usually more.
The event gets local families together around the holidays and gives gifts to children who might not get many Christmas presents due to finances, Post Commander Dave Bloshenko said.
“A few years ago a kid was here and he told me ‘Santa doesn’t come to my house.’” Bloshenko said.
That wouldn’t do. After talking to the child’s mom, the Legion set her up with a sack full of toys to take home, even sneaking it into the family’s car so the gifts could be a surprise on Christmas Day.
“The lowest number of kids we’ve ever had is 11, the most is probably 45,” Bloshenko said. “Some of these kids don’t get much at home and we get a lot of them that just love this.”
Volunteers helped kids paint their hands and press them to the office walls, labeling the multi-colored handprints with their names so they could come back in the future and see how they’ve grown.
The entire event is organized and set up by just three or four people each year, with cookies, apples, juice, mittens and more all donated by local businesses.
The Legion also collects stuffed animals, action figures, dolls and board games all year in preparation for the event, so most kids can go home with an armful of treasures, a picture of them with Santa and plenty of holiday memories.
Shannen Talbot can be reached at [email protected].
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