Christmastime for children is often a magical experience. No school for two weeks and they get to celebrate Christmas. It’s the rush of seeing what Santa brought and left under the Christmas tree.

Sometimes families don’t have enough to afford much for their children for Christmas. This is where Toys for Tots comes in. Marine Corps league detachments collect unwrapped toys and give them to Salvation Army for distribution. The detachment in LaGrange also gives toys to the Empty Stocking Fund of LaGrange and the Empty Stocking Fund of Hogansville.

On Saturday, at the Tunes for Tots event at Main Street Pub, the local marine detachment was still accepting donations for both stocking funds, even though the Salvation Army had already started distributing toys to families. Local bands performed and many who attended gave toys or a money donation to Toys for Tots.

Toys for Tots coordinator Bernard Bledsoe said the event was great because the more toys for kids, the better the Christmas. And he’s right. The event Saturday and the toy drive make for better Christmases.

The marine detachment got an extra 60 toys and stocking stuffers that night, along with money to fund any last-minute gifts needed for children in LaGrange and Hogansville. Both Empty Stocking Fund’s started delivering toys Monday.

More was given and that means a lot to children who grow up without much. The local agencies severe 1,200 to 1,400 families every year.

Beldsoe said he wants the community to think about the children who were given a few extra gifts on Christmas day. The community came together to help people provide Christmas gifts for their children.

We can’t think of anything that better shows the spirit of Christmas.