MIDDLETON, Idaho — At Middleton High School the second week of December means one thing.
This is the third straight year the Vikings are filling the gym for a kind of kid-run Christmas party, complete with ugly sweaters and suits, and an assortment of Santa hats.
"So, without further ado we're going to start granting wishes," student council adviser Johnny Hullinger says.
They call it the Wish Assembly, where members of the student council try to answer the asks of their classmates.
"Can Carson Fredrickson come down please?" announces a member of student council.
"It's the most fun thing we do, I think," adds Hullinger.
Back in October the council called for a wish list from the school's 1300 students.
What would make your holidays happier?
A laptop for college? Perhaps a performance on the piano? Or maybe you'd like the teaching staff to shake their stuff?
Those are just a few of the requests the student council has spent countless hours pulling together to tighten the Viking community.
"The goal of this assembly is to increase the spirit of giving this time of year," says Hullinger.
A Danny DeVito t-shirt? Done.
A full-on sprint around the gym with an American flag? Far out.
How about a box of Sunny D, from a guy they call Sunny D? Sure thing.
What if you long for something a little loonier?
"There is a lot of crazy wishes," says junior student council member Malachi Meyer.
Wanting waxed eyebrows? Easy
What about a first kiss, full on the mouth? Fulfilled.
This year, the biggest of the three, they wrangled more than 350 wishes in about six weeks with about $5,000 in fund-raising dollars and donations.
"It's a lot of community involvement," says Meyer. "And a lot of donating."
It's how they can fill arms with four Christmas kittens and one very young Yuletide puppy.
Or how they could afford to fly in friends from far way, and turn a Skype fake-out into a real, heartfelt moment, with senior Abby Grooms running into the arms of Makenzie Flake, her friend from Washington.
Middleton High School's Wish Assembly, where even a pie-eating loss still leaves you looking like Santa and the student body shows how their hearts grow several sizes each year.
"It makes you feel so good," says Meyer.
"We want the feeling of that giving, you know, that Christmas spirit to be here," Hullinger explains. "That's the whole point of this."
The student council says the more creative the wish is, the more they try to grant it. That first year, they granted about 150 wishes, so you can see how much it's grown in such a short time.
Watch more 'Idaho Life'
See them all in our YouTube playlist:
Note: Watch the 360 Idaho Life videos on mobile in the YouTube app for the complete immersive virtual reality experience.