Eyes as big as saucers peered out of windows as vans stocked with toys made their way throughout Cape Girardeau Tuesday night.
When one child saw that Santa had arrived, she ran out of the house and squealed with delight. "Santa's here, he's here," she shouted. Santa entered the house toting a sack full of toys and the child was noticeably moved by the experience.
Thanks to the project called Toybox, which generated more than $12,000 worth of toys for over 1,000 children, the night was a success for the 20th year.
There were even children who were spared the feeling of being left out when Santas discovered the bag assigned to the house didn't the right names on it.
Toys were provided for the needy children by some 19 Jaycee Santas and their helpers.
And so it went throughout the night Tuesday as Toybox recipients demonstrated their appreciation for presents they would otherwise not have received.
Toybox is a joint project of the Cape Girardeau Jaycees and Southeast Missourian.
One child was so moved by the gifts he received he ran to Santa and hugged him. "Thank you very much, Santa," the boys whispered. After he was through hugging Santa, he took a candy cane off the family Christmas tree and offered it to the person he was waiting all day to see. "He's wanted to do that for a long time," the boy's mother said.
Others offered Santa Christmas cards with tokens of their appreciation. A packet of cocoa was inside one card. "Please tell everyone who worked on Toybox that we really appreciate what you've done for us this year," the woman said.
"God bless you," said another woman as she watched her son rip open a box containing a toy truck.
One girl appeared transfixed as Santa began opening the sack of toys he brought her. "She wants to ask you a question," her mother said. "Are you really Santa Claus?" she queried with a look of intensity. "Of course," Santa said. "Thank you very much Santa," the girl said.
"If you could put something in the paper about how much this family appreciates this, it would make my Christmas," said one man, whose three children benefited from Toybox.
Connect with the Southeast Missourian Newsroom:
For corrections to this story or other insights for the editor, click here. To submit a letter to the editor, click here. To learn about the Southeast Missourian’s AI Policy, click here.