Off comes the big red bow, then the peppermint-striped paper. The Christmas tree, once the center of a family room, is now the middle of a wrapping scrap pile. Then out come the toys: dolls, trucks, electronic gadgets. Santa had come down the chimney the eve before.

Christmas morning for many children means presents galore, but for a number of underprivileged youngsters, the holiday does not bring so much cheer. To help make Christmas morning exciting for everyone on Santa’s list, Student Council teamed up with the South Lake County Salvation Army’s Angel Tree Program.

“The Angel Tree Program in general is really good for unfortunate children so they can have a nice Christmas,” senior Jen Kelleher, head of the philanthropic activities committee for Student Council, said.

Through the Angel Tree Program, Student Council carried out its annual Toy Drive. Like Interact’s annual Food Drive, the Toy Drive gives students a venue to lend a helping hand to those in need during the holidays.

“I feel it’s a very admirable thing to help the less fortunate whenever possible, especially during the holiday season,” junior Steven Tomich, head of student affairs for Student Council, said After Thanksgiving break, Student Council began advertising for the Toy Drive with big posters throughout the hallways. SRT teachers and club sponsors were given the option of playing Santa to an underprivileged child in the area whose Christmas morning outlook wasn’t so bright.

“These kids come from underprivileged families,” social studies teacher and Student Council sponsor Miss Rachel Mishoulam said. “By participating in the Toy Drive, [students are given] the opportunity to actually get involved in their community and do something for people they honestly haven’t met before.”

Each of the 40 participating SRTs and clubs was assigned an angel or two to sponsor. An angel card representing a child, whose ages range from infants to eight years old, was delivered to every volunteering SRT and club. On each card, the name, age and clothing size of the child was clearly written along with a short Christmas wish list.

“Every kid needs clothes, especially coats, gloves, stuff for the winter as it gets colder,” Miss Mishoulam said.

Many of the children put educational toys like Leap Frog and V Smile games at the top of their lists.

“We were surprised to see so many educational type games for the little kids,” Miss Mishoulam said.

Students within participating SRTs or clubs donated money to put towards purchasing Christmas presents for their assigned angel.

Miss Mishoulam said that Student Council issued a $40 guideline so that all the children would receive equal amounts of gifts, but by no means was that dollar amount the limit an SRT could spend. Students could spread the cheer as far as they wished.

“We don’t want the child to just get one toy or just a scarf. We want them to have a good Christmas,” Kelleher said.

Friday, Dec. 14 was the last day to turn in all of the angels’ Christmas presents to Miss Mishoulam’s room, wrapped and ready for delivery.

“[The Toy Drive is] one of the more important projects that Student Council does thoughout the year,” Kelleher said. “I hope we really make a difference for the holidays of these children.”