Hundreds of children’s Christmas holiday will be a little brighter this year — because of the Heart of Virginia Christmas Mother.

The inaugural year of the program is nearly complete with even more success than expected.

The organization set a goal of raising $20,000, or enough for $100 worth of presents for 200 children.

However, due to an excess of donations, the group was able to raise enough to give 210 children Christmas presents.

On Thursday morning, the gift distribution took place after weeks of fundraising and months of preparation. The Heart of Virginia Christmas Mother committee turned the Firemen’s Sports Arena into a Christmas Store, organized by age group and item and filled with enough presents for the line of people outside.

Families were invited to select toys, gloves, toothbrushes and games, in addition to wrapping paper. They were welcomed to pick a coat from the coat drive and a calendar from a table filled with donated calendars.

Nancy Haga, the 2016 Heart of Virginia Christmas Mother, said the group was very organized and explained that each shopper was led through the “store” by a volunteer who helped them choose items from a check list.

According to Heart of Virginia Christmas Mother organizers, Thursday’s toy distribution at the Firemen’s Sports Arena in Farmville included gifts provided by Shelia Hight, the Christmas coordinator for Piedmont Juvenile Detention Center in Farmville.