THE MAN IN RED ARRIVES EARLY

Frank Essner of Chaffee dressed as a Toy box Santa to deliver toys to Athisha Robinson, 7, and her brother Elbridge, 5, during the Toy Box gift delivery.

Kathy Eastley of Cape Girardeau, helped her brother Keith Seyer get his Santa costume on before he delivered toys from the Toy Box.

Two little girls, ages 6 and 9, were very quiet during their visit from Santa Claus Thursday night. They didn't run; they didn't tug on his beard or ask him questions.

They enjoyed the gifts he put in their hands, but they didn't anxiously eye the bag he gave grandma to distribute on Christmas day. Their smiles stood at half-mast as their grandmother told how good they had been all year. They looked at the floor as she told Santa that they had done all of the cleaning and washing since her back surgery earlier in the year.

As we left the house, grandma told us she had been afraid to let us in, "what with all of the burglaries and killing and all."

Santa, his designated elf, Don the photographer and I walked quietly down the steps.

"Helping families like that is what it's all about, isn't it?" Santa asked.

Some of the children were already dressed for bed and didn't expect a visit from Santa. Others had staked out a place by the door so that they'd be the first to see the man in red. Either way, by the time Santa and his elves left, the smiles were there.

I was smiling, too, but it was the same smile those two little girls had: a smile of innocence lost. I now knew first-hand how wonderful yet disturbing the Toybox delivery experience is, and I know nothing I write will fully communicate that feeling to anyone.

"It's real emotional," said Kathy Easley, a Jaycee member and helper for the Toybox deliveries being made that evening. "It makes you appreciate the things you have."

This marked the 22nd year of Toybox deliveries. The annual toy drive is co-sponsored by the Cape Jaycees and the Southeast Missourian, and it benefits needy children under the age of 12.

Many of the deliveries were made by first-time Santas and elves this year. Kerry Reeves, Jaycee co-chairperson, said a number of community volunteers were needed due to a lower Jaycee membership. The community response to Toybox and the need for volunteers was incredible, she said, and it showed how much people in Cape Girardeau care about Toybox.

"We had a lot of specific requests filled, and Cape's response was again terrific," she said. "And I don't know how my husband got all of these volunteers to come out, but I'm glad he did."

A number of businesses, offices and organizations sent groups of representatives to drive vans and dress as Santa for the deliveries. "We've got a whole family here," Easley said. Her mother, sister and brother were on hand to help with deliveries.

Frank Essner doesn't even work with the Target volunteers he arrived with. "My wife works at Target," he said. "I'm kind of experienced at playing Santa, and somebody asked me to do it because they didn't want to wear the suit."

Doug Rowe, Target store manager, said Toybox represented the same ideas and values as the store.

"This is what we believe in," he said. "It's all about families."

Everyone in the news room told me that I'd enjoy the Toybox deliveries, which I knew translated to mean I was going to cry. Of course I was; I cried while I wrote the stories, didn't I? But Toybox isn't about crying, it's about smiling. It's about giving a child something more than a toy for Christmas. It's about sharing and spreading joy during a family- and love-oriented holiday season.

There is probably no better feeling than to bring a smile to a child's face. Toybox made approximately 1,200 children smile Thursday night.