Maybe the second-best day for a child to wake up early -- trailing only Christmas Day -- is the day that child gets to go shopping for their own Christmas toys.
Dozens of young children lined up in front of Walmart on East McCarty Street long before daylight Saturday morning to go shopping with law enforcement personnel. During Operation TOYS (Take Our Youth Shopping), officers are paired with underprivileged children.
The children turned on lights and sirens, wore their agency partner's hats and buzzed as they waited to enter the store.
Ten-year-old Garrett Ahart and his little brother, 8-year-old Waylon, stood shoulder-to-shoulder and grinned for a photo outside the store while they waited.
Both boys found toy guns they liked. Waylon said he also found some Hot Wheels.
Leanne Drury, a team lead (a sort of assistant manager), said she's been involved with the program for eight years.
"We traffic them in through Lawn and Garden. Then they trickle out through these registers and doors (at household)," Drury said. "That also gives more room for the ladies to wrap."
Drury pointed out that about a dozen volunteers had set up tables where they could wrap toys. They also set up a table with snacks, such as cartons of milk, individually wrapped cakes and small packages of chips.
Jefferson City Police Officer Seth Wigle said 65 children were invited Saturday. Before the pandemic, there had been years when the event treated more than 100 children to Christmas.
Part of the challenge, Wigle said, is that some of the agencies can't provide as many staff members as they had in the past.
Although there were fewer children involved this year, the children had more to spend than in previous years -- they could spend $150.
Cole County Sheriff John Wheeler said his agency had to turn some of its own staff members away, as it had too many volunteers this year.
"I've been doing this at least 20 years," he said. "I do it every year."
Children involved in the shopping sprees are selected through school resource officers and counselors at schools, Wheeler said.
"We coordinate with JCPD and the Highway Patrol to make sure we're not picking the same kids -- and to make sure we're not picking the same kids over and over each year," he said. "So we try to coordinate to make sure this experience is good for both the kids and us, and to make sure we spread that out over (all of the community)."
Wheeler said he's always interested in what the children choose.
"We're allowed $150. The problem is when they get up to the register -- I always tell my staff -- remember it's $150 on the card," he said. "Just keep up with it and try not to spend your own money."
Partnered with Cole County deputy Zach Langendoerfer, Sharon Ricter walked away from the store's toy department with a cart filled with stuffed animals. She said she especially likes cats.
Joe Gamm/News Tribune photo: Ten-year-old Waylon Hart reaches high on a shelf Saturday for a Gel Fire toy gun at Walmart during the annual Operation Take Our Youth Shopping (TOYS) event. Waylon was escorted by Cole County deputies Kevin Woodson, right, and Chris Suchanek.
Joe Gamm/News Tribune photo: Kadayzdon Hatton, 10 found a bicycle Saturday at Walmart. He was escorted by Tyler Tubbs, who works for the Missouri Corrections Department. The two went shopping during the annual Operation Take Our Youth Shopping (TOYS) event.
Joe Gamm/News Tribune photo: Four-year-old Hazel Mari Lee rides her new horse during Operation Take Our Youth Shopping (TOYS) Saturday morning. Missouri State Highway Patrol Lt. Thad Wilson shopped with Hazel at Walmart during the annual event.
Joe Gamm/News Tribune photo: Law enforcement personnel and the children they are shopping with line up Saturday morning to have toys wrapped at Walmart during Operation Take Our Youth Shopping (TOYS). Organizers invited more than 60 children to participate in the event.
Joe Gamm/News Tribune photo: Santa and his helpers arrive about 6 a.m. Saturday for Operation Take Our Youth Shopping (TOYS) event at Walmart. Santa greeted shoppers and helped hand out gift cards worth $150 that the children used to buy toys for themselves and some items for family members.
Joe Gamm/News Tribune photo: Seven-year-old Destanie Bellamy picks up some snacks before asking a team of waiting volunteers to wrap the toys she bought for Christmas during Operation Take Our Youth Shopping (TOYS) on Saturday at Walmart. Destanie and a couple of her siblings were invited to participate in the event.
Joe Gamm/News Tribune photo: Law enforcement personnel and the children they took shopping line up Saturday to have toys wrapped during Operation Take Our Youth Shopping (TOYS) at Walmart.
Joe Gamm/News Tribune photo: As several volunteers wrap her toys, 4-year-old Hazel Marie Lee shows one of them to Missouri State Highway Patrol Lt. Thad Wilson. The two shopped together Saturday at Walmart during the annual Operation Take Our Youth Shopping (TOYS) event.
Joe Gamm/News Tribune photo: Despite filling a shopping cart with toys for Christmas, 8-year-old Waylon Hart grimaced when some items ran short. He wasnt unhappy. He had already stacked up toy guns, Hot Wheels and other items. He was escorted Saturday morning by Cole County deputy Aaron Bell and Jim Follina, a sheriffs posse member during Operation Take Our Youth Shopping (TOYS) event.