More than 400 children under the age of 12 in the Eastern Schuylkill and Southwestern Carbon County areas are hoping for a Christmas Angel.

It's easy to make those wishes come true by participating in the Tamaqua Salvation Army's Angel Tree program.It doesn't take much to become a Christmas angel - just a little bit of love, understanding and concern for those who are less fortunate in life.The program is designed to make the Christmas season brighter for children in need. Angel Trees are located at the Salvation Army Community Center, 105 W. Broad St., Tamaqua, as well as several businesses throughout the Tamaqua and Carbon County areas.The trees are hung with tags containing the name, age, gender, clothing size and special Christmas needs/wishes of an individual child. Participants select a tag, then purchase new items based on the tag information.The unwrapped items, along with the tag, should be returned to the Salvation Army no later than Dec. 10. Cash donations are also being accepted.This year, organizers are suggesting that participants focus more on the clothing needs of the individual child.Program coordinator Dina Depos explains, "Families registered for the Angel Tree program are also registered for the Marine Corps League's Toys For Tots program. So, while toys are listed on the individual tags, we hope our 'angels' concentrate more on the clothing listed for each child."She does note though that the toys on the tags are child specific, while Toys for Tots is more generalized by age and gender.This year's deadline for tags to be returned is Dec. 10."We have to select a date that will give us time to sort, inspect and itemize each donated item," Depos said. "It's a lot of work but it's worth it when a parent tells you how happy their child is going to be on Christmas morning."She is hoping some of the recipient families will be willing to share their Christmas morning photos for a collage to show donors.For more information, or to find an Angel Tree location, call 570-668-0410.