CASSOPOLIS — The normally quiet Veteran of Foreign Wars Hall in Cassopolis was filled with the Christmas spirit Saturday as dozens of children waited in line to tell Santa Claus what they wanted for Christmas.

The Cassopolis-Vandalia Area Chamber of Commerce hosted its 14th annual Christmas in Cassopolis event Saturday morning. A full meal including dessert was provided to visitors as area children visited with Santa at the free event. The chamber also provided gifts to all children who visited.

“Every year we get between 200 and 300 kids in here and give them a little bit of Christmas,” said chamber president Steve Meyer. “It gets pretty busy in here. It gets a little crazy.”

The gifts that were distributed to the children were divided up by gender and age group, with the chamber providing many different toys and other gear, such as footballs, scarves, pillows, toy helicopters and more. Each child received two gifts.

The store Five Below helped out with providing the presents, Meyer said. Fundraising and donations also helped to make the event possible.

Seeing how excited the children get is part of what makes the event personally rewarding for Meyer, he said.

“The kids deserve it. It’s Christmas,” Meyer said. “Can you imagine it being Christmas and not having any presents? So, if there are any children out there that don’t have any present or their parents can’t get anything for them, we can help out and get them a Christmas gift.”

Several of the children in the crowd seemed appreciative of the gifts, and appeared excited as they showed off their haul to their friends.

The children were not the only ones excited about the event. Many of the parents were, too.

Stacy Hartline, of Cassopolis, has been attending the Christmas in Cassopolis event for nine years, coming to the first one when one of her children was less than a year old. A mother of five, Hartline said attending the event helps take some of the pressure off of Christmas and makes things easier on her checkbook.

“It can really help out,” she said. “Plus, the girls get so excited. They know they get a present. It crosses one present off the list.”

The Christmas in Cassopolis event was started many years ago by a former chamber president, Meyer said. The tradition stuck and the chamber to this day hosts the event, with no intention of stopping in the future.

The chamber gets excited about the event each year because it is a chance to see businesses owners, many of whom donated time or money to event, interact with the community and bring the community together, Meyer said.

“We just want to give back to the community that gives so much to our businesses,” Meyer said. “Without a community like this, we wouldn’t have near as much business.”