To many of these third grader's surprise, Santa and Mrs. Clause had already wrapped some of their wishes in a box.
QUINCY, ILL. -- Hundreds of Quincy school children received a surprise gift Monday from none other than Santa.
His helpers with the Quincy Noon Kiwanis Club hosted the event at the Town & Country Inn & Suites. You didn't have to look far to catch the smiles on their faces or the excitement in their voice.
"I'm really excited to be here. I've been waiting a long time to come," Caleb Schinderling, a third grader said.
All 262 third graders from Adams, Dewey, Berrian and Washington Elementary Schools made Santa's good list this year. They just didn't know they'd get to meet him in person.
"Many of the boys and girls are very happy to see Santa. A couple not so sure if they wanted to sit on Santa's lap and take a picture or not," Santa said.
"I told him I was being really good and I wanted a Play Station for Christmas," Caleb Kroeger said.
To their surprise, Santa and Mrs. Clause had already wrapped some of their wishes in a box.
"I got battleship. I saw it on TV and now I have it!" Matthew Mann, a Washington Elementary School third grader said.
"I got to eat pizza and eat a cookie and sit on Santa's lap," Chloe Schlueter from Berrian Elementary said.
"The kids are so excited to be on a field trip and some of them didn't realize they were going to see Santa. They said, 'oh, we get to see Santa! Look at the presents! Do we get a present?' Everybody's very, very excited," Susie Lee, with the Noon Kiwanis said.
In years past, the Noon Kiwanis Club handed out gifts to all students at each school they visited. This year, they reserved that fun for just the third graders, but integrated more schools.
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