The sparkle of the lights on the Christmas tree are rivaled only by the light in a child’s eyes while in line to talk to Santa Claus. Dreams of sugar plums dancing through their heads often take a back seat to thoughts of a new Power Ranger toy or a Barbie.

Families who are financially strapped during the holiday season can find help through Toys for Tots, a program that helps put presents under the tree for needy families all over Story county.

The combined efforts of the Navy office and the Ames Appalachia Committee have been collecting toys and games since November and will be accepting gifts for underprivileged kids until Dec. 22, said Nicholas Vande Griend, office candidate at ROTC.

Boxes for donations are set out in the following stores in Ames: Wal-Mart, KMart, Save U More, HyVee, Cub Foods, SoFro Fabrics and the ISU Credit Union.

The toys are collected three times a week and are stored by the Appalachia Committee until they can be rerouted to the families that need them.

To receive assistance through this program, families make requests by calling Clarence (Joe) Johannes of the Appalachia Committee. Once the toys are gathered, they start filling the requests, Vande Griend said.

“We fill as many as we can. Usually we fill them all. We really don’t set a goal, we just want as many [toys] as possible. Infinity is the goal,” he said.

Once the local families are taken care of, the remainder of the donations go to Kentucky, where the main headquarters of the Appalachia Committee is located.

The program fills orders for children ranging in age from newborn up to 13 years old, so a wide variety of gifts are needed.

“You never know when families are in need, how old their children are and what sex they are going to be,” Vande Griend said.

Toys for Tots will accept “anything,” both new and used toys, as long as the used donations are in good condition, he said.

According to Santa Claus himself, who was making his list and checking it twice in the North Grand Mall on Sunday afternoon, one of the hot commodities this season was the Tickle Me Elmo doll.

“A lot of girls have been asking for trucks, which is kind of a change in gender stereotype,” Santa (Mark Royer of Ames) said.

My Size Barbie, video games and athletic equipment have also been some popular wish list items. However, there is one thing the jolly old elf hasn’t heard yet from his long line of requests.

“No one’s asked for peace on earth yet,” he said.

Vande Griend said he feels a little like Santa Claus when working with this program.

Boxes were set up in area elementary schools, and after the kids gathered presents to donate, the ROTC went into the classroom and helped wrap them with the students.

“I like doing it. I think we almost had more fun than they did,” he said.