By Garrett Wymer

It was a Christmas party, but it was an atmosphere of thanksgiving that decked the halls of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon house Thursday night.

In an annual tradition, fraternity Sigma Alpha Epsilon joined sorority Alpha Omicron Pi in spreading the joy of Christmas with a holiday party for children and their families who otherwise might not get to experience it.

Spencer Merk, a business and management junior and member of SAE, was one of the organizers for the event, which invites families who might be struggling financially this holiday season.

“These are families who need a little help for Christmas,” he said. “We’re fortunate, and this is just something we can do to chip in a little bit, to give back to the community, to help these kids have a better Christmas.”

SAE and AOPi members were placed in groups, given a child’s wishlist and then sent on a shopping trip in preparation for the party, he said.

The event has been held for more than 10 years, but this year’s party was more important than those in the past, said Dana Deptola, a marketing and finance senior and member of AOPi.

“So many people have lost their jobs in the recession, so now, more than ever, we need to be doing this.

“And many of the kids didn’t even ask for toys,” Deptola said. “They asked for clothing, things like that — basic necessities.”

Groups had $300 to spend on each child. After Santa arrived at the party, the children were allowed to open their gifts.

Three or four presents for each child remained hidden. Deptola said these will be given to the parents and placed under their families’ trees so the children will have gifts to open on Christmas morning.

“We’re in a situation where our kids weren’t going to get much for Christmas,” said LaKelli Hamilton, who attended the party with her son. “I had no idea it would be like this. I’m really touched. It is such a blessing.”

Hamilton’s son Leslee, 10, had a great time at the party, he said, but he was more excited about his gift of a watch.

“It’s real cool because you get to do stuff other people can’t do with their watch,” Leslee said. “It glows in the dark, like when I wake up at night, and I can go underwater.”

Martha Granados was happy to see her son, 5-year-old Christopher, open up his gifts, including a Nintendo DS.

“I’m very happy because these are all the presents he wanted,” she said. “It was great.”

Jessica Neal, an elementary education senior and member of AOPi, skipped her final class to attend the party. She said the event is one that everyone in the organizations looks forward to each year.

“Just seeing this, their faces, makes it worth it,” Neal said. “It’s very emotional. And I’ll miss everything about it next year.”

Eighteen children from William Wells Brown Elementary School on East Fifth Street were invited to the party. Leslie Calk, director of the school’s family resource center, said the party helped ease parents’ minds that their children would not miss out on their Christmas wishes.

“So many of the parents here are struggling,” Calk said. “This is a huge sigh of relief for them.”

Calk said she is satisfied in seeing the smiling faces around her.

“It’s just the joy of watching these children’s dreams come true,” she said. “Because they do come true.”