An early Christmas

Lolita Harper

SOUTH COAST PLAZA -- Bubbling, sauce-splattered faces slurped up

spaghetti at Maggiano’s Little Italy Restaurant on Thursday, finally

filling their little bellies after a busy morning visiting with Santa

Claus.

About 23 children from South Coast Children’s Preschool went to the

cross-town eatery for their first field trip of the school year and a

chance to make sure Santa had the right information for his Christmas

deliveries.

“I want a Barbie and makeup,” said Heather Canales, 6, as she sat on

St. Nick’s lap.

“And I want a go-cart,” Heather’s 4-year-old friend, Kendall Wright,

chimed in from Santa’s other knee.

South Coast Children’s Preschool provides child care for kids from all

economic backgrounds, owner Gena Monroy said, and it works with many

children living at the Orange County Interfaith Shelter in Costa Mesa.

The anxious tots didn’t have to wait until Christmas to unwrap some of

their toys because the food servers at Maggiano’s chipped in to buy them

presents. Eighty-five servers combined a portion of their earnings and

raised almost $500.

“At the end of every night, we all just dropped some of our tips in a

big pool,” server Jackie Mukhar said.

The two dozen children -- wearing bright matching school T-shirts --

waited eagerly for their gifts, fidgeting and excitedly talking about

Christmas. Immediately after Mukhar and her colleagues brought out the

bags full of toys, they were surrounded by a swarm of youngsters.

Bright smiles spread across their faces as the kids ripped into their

presents and uncovered Fisher Price play sets, model cars, Barbies and

other dolls.

“I got a cool paint set,” Heather said. “I will use it a lot in the

summer. I mostly paint in the summer because it’s warm and my mom makes

me go outside.”

Heather, whose favorite color is red, told her new friends at

Maggiano’s that she will paint hearts and butterflies with her new gift.

“It makes you so happy to see all these smiling faces and to know that

something so simple can make people so happy,” server Kim Chabolla said.

“It reminds you what Christmas is really about,” Mukhar added.