SIDNEY, Neb.- While the morning started with a line of parents outside the Elks Lodge in Sidney, the season will end with some very happy kids thanks to the local chapter of Toys for Tots.

After months of preparation and weeks of collecting toys and cash, today was the day it all paid off for area families that picked out toys, books, sports gear and more during the Elks Lodge event that ran from 8am to 2pm Saturday.

The program is a family affair here in Sidney.  Sisters Christina Gudahl and Katie Hanes are the co-coordinators of the annual event.  After being program recipients, the duo started volunteering for the cause to help other families. Now they co-coordinators that work year-round getting ready for days like today.

"Setting everything up and making sure we have enough toys is the hardest part" Katie said. Christina added that keeping track of the numbers and making sure each age group has toys can be tough, but they have enough this year.

"We have an amazing community, we get a lot of donations, a lot of grants and things like that. They make it pretty easy on us," Christina said. The two agreed all the hard work was worth it.

"We love seeing how happy the families are, and how special we've made this Christmas for their children," Christina said. The sisters wish more parents knew how accessible the program can be.

'It's a program for everybody. If you need help, if you need toys this year, we are not going to ask questions, just apply and come down. A lot of people think they have to be extremely low income, and that is not the case necessarily," Christina said.

Katie and Christina's mother, their brother and their kids are all in on the hard work as well.  Katie's daughter Ashton leads the team of shoppers that assist the parents that come in to pick out gifts.  She has been helping with the program for 10 years now.

"Seeing how much we are helping families on Christmas, to be honest that's my favorite part, knowing a kid gets to have a Christmas," Ashton said of why she helps out.

Anywhere between 10 and 20 volunteers help out with the big day each year. Many at the wrapping station, where parents get the gifts wrapped before they take them home. Sally Harris and her group of friends have been helping at the event for over 8 years, and while there is some debate over who might be the best wrapper in the group, there is no debate on why they are helping at the event.

"Helping someone who needs help," Harris said.

We spoke to a program recipient who wished she had found the program sooner. This is her first year, and she has two kids under 14 and when asked what she was looking for in the sea of toys, her response was simple.

"Just the blessings."