Brackenridge Salvation Army plays Santa for more than 200 families

Georgetta Field said she was like a kid in a candy store when a truckload of toys was delivered to the Salvation Army in Brackenridge ahead of the group’s Christmas shop on Wednesday.

“We got such nice things,” said Field of Brackenridge, who volunteers year-round at the site with her children and grandchildren. “We have Legos and Squishmallows and games — everything that kids will like.”

More than 200 families were served by this year’s holiday store, where thousands of gifts were staged on card tables for boys and girls from newborns to teens. Families browsed the selections as they would in a store and chose what they wanted, at no cost.

“We don’t bag random gifts and distribute them,” Capt. Selah Bender said. “We like to do it this way so our clients can have dignity picking their own gifts.”

The event is hosted to help supplement presents under the tree, Bender said, in a time when many people are struggling with everyday expenses. Each family also received a ham.

The Christmas shop is a tradition that dates back decades, she said.

Volunteers at the Brackenridge Salvation Army offer similar outreach through the year. It includes an emergency food bank, a community lunch, a basketball league, children’s programs and Sunday worship.

Toys for the Christmas shop were collected through angel trees, set up at local malls and offices. People could donate for children or for entire families.

Brittany Farmer of Creighton, East Deer, called the program “an amazing help.”

She shopped Wednesday for her three sons, who are wild about Pokemon and SpongeBob Square Pants.

“It’s so nice to have some extra help,” Farmer said. “They do something similar for back to school where the kids can get book bags and haircuts. They make it fun for the kids and nice for the parents so you don’t have to pay for necessary items.”

Eight-year-old Andrea Hantz spent the day guiding shoppers through the array of stocking stuffers that included Funko dolls, knitted hats and body wash.

“I helped sort them all,” she said. “There were, like, a million bags!”