Dusting off the Santa hats and ugly Christmas sweaters, Eastern Interact students volunteered to add a little magic to foster kids’ holidays during the annual “Breakfast with Santa.”

  Two of the teachers who lead Interact, Mrs. Molloy and Mrs. Walker explain, “It feels like we’ve always been involved! The brunch has been put on for over 20 years and the goal is to give joy to foster and adoptive families.”

  The brunch was definitely a success. Eyes bright and smiles wide, all the children lit up when they saw the piles of donuts and heaps of presents just for them.

  Full of awe and excitement, every single kid jumped for joy when they saw Santa. Jolly as ever, he handed out candy canes to each child and made sure to pose for a picture with the whole family.

  Parent Ted Liddell has brought his kids at least six times as he said, “It’s what Christmas is all about, spreading the love.  It’s awesome to see so many high school students volunteering to help displaced children during the holidays.” His family wore matching black T-shirts with gold sparkle snowflakes and lettering calling themselves “the wild ones.”

  After picking a present, kids sprinted from the Santa room in the cafeteria to the gym full of games. A bean bag toss, two basketball games, bowling, and two giant bouncy castles filled the room as Jingle Bell Rock and Santa Claus is coming to Town blasted through the speakers. One little girl in a bright green elf shirt and red striped leggings started dancing around the hallway when A Holly Jolly Christmas began playing.

   Interact officer, junior Kendall Jung conveys, “The children always have the most amazing, happy looks. One year, a little girl even dragged me around until we hit every single station!”

    The interact officers agree that Breakfast with Santa is always a triumph if the students are able to bring joy to the little kids who need cheering up during the holiday season.

   Jung also mentioned “The kids don’t have a permanent family yet, and we want to give them happy memories, especially during the holidays.”

  Senior Angelina Le agreed with Jung, saying “The kids are all so cute and I love helping out each year. We help bring their family a better holiday!”

  When the clock chimed eleven, the kids refused to leave. Six year old Joseph, clutching his race car, tried to run to the bouncy castles. Dayton, age eight, made sure to stop by the craft tables to make his best friend a bracelet.  Even five year old Arianna waited to get her face painted like a princess.

  Sophomore Yashfa Nisar explained, “Foster kids don’t really have a normal childhood, and we give them a day just for them to have fun!”

   Leaving with a hug and a promise to return next year, the children left, exhilarated and full of excitement, for the upcoming holidays.