NILES — Sometimes the best gifts are not necessarily the ones found under the tree.

Several Brandywine students took this to heart this holiday season by continuing a longtime tradition to visit area nursing homes and schools to share the gift of music.

Choir teacher Denise Boger led the Trebleaires, an all-female elite choir, on the holiday tour. The approximately 20-student group spent about half an hour singing songs at Brentwood at Niles Senior Living Center, the Greater Niles Senior Center, the Chalet of Niles and Merritt Elementary School, respectively.

Students also caroled through the halls of Healthwin, a specialized care facility in South Bend, Indiana, where some of the residents are bed ridden.

Piano accompanist Sandra Zylstra has been part of the tradition for the past 12 years and said she enjoys the chance to spread a little holiday cheer.

“Residents love it. They sometimes are singing along,” Zylstra said.  “It touches their lives in a way they never would have experienced.”

Many of the seniors and students started singing along to the Christmas songs and a few even shed tears of joy, causing some of the students to do the same.

Boger said the experience is typically an enlightening one for the students. When the tradition first began, she said sometimes students seemed a bit hesitant about the idea, being that many of them do not visit a senior center on a regular basis. But once they started singing and saw how much it meant to residents, the reaction was very different, she said.

“I tell you what, every time we go, the day is one of the best days for the girls and they absolutely love going,” Boger said. “It is a lesson in appreciating the time they have with grandparents and  hanging out with older people and not being afraid.”

Boger said the tradition first got its start about 20 years ago when her choirs used to perform at the WNIT TV station in South Bend. From there it grew to also singing in nursing homes along the way — a tradition Boger wanted to continue, even after WNIT stopped airing the program.

“It affects both the residents and they did a lot of laughing too,” Zylstra said. “It is one of the most fun days of the year.”

Zylstra commended Boger on creating a tradition that inspires the next generation of students to get into the spirit of giving throughout the holidays. It is a tradition that each new class of students looks forward to participating in, she said.

While Boger said she bases her selection for the Trebleaires on their signing skill, having a desire to help their community is also a big part of the group. In the spring, Boger said she hopes to bring students back to some of the area nursing homes to perform again.