DAPHNE, Ala. — A group of Baldwin County children will be pleasantly surprised on Tuesday. The Optimist Club of Daphne, along with the Daphne United Methodist Community Life Center, will host an “Optimist Kids Christmas Party” at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.

“There are 91 underprivileged kids from five agencies,” club committee member Ben Spencer said, citing Ecumenical Ministries, Family Promise, Saving Grace, Community Action and Habitat for Humanity as the agencies participating. “We’ve gotten people from the Optimist Club and community to take the names of the kids and buy them gifts.”

The children receiving the gifts have no idea they are coming for anything more than a party.

“They’re not supposed to know they’re receiving gifts; they’re just supposed to know they’re going to a party,” Spencer said. “We’re going to keep the gifts hidden behind a curtain, and Santa is going to come.”

Spencer said the idea combines the mission of the club and the spirit of Christmas into one package.

“The optimists are all about bringing out the best in kids,” he said, “and Christmas is all about parties and giving gifts and sorts, so we talked about what we could do at Christmas. This is unique because people can experience the spirit and be more pro-active in it.”

The price range of the gifts has been set to keep the gifts around the same area of quality, Spencer said.

“We didn’t want one kid getting a $5 gift and another getting a $60 gift so we asked them to buy a $25 gift,” he said.

Spencer said the amount of participation from community members has been surprisingly high.

“There were at least 50 people who asked to buy a gift but we had to say, ‘Sorry, the kids were already taken and the gifts already bought,’” he said. “I think we’re going to have a good-sized crowd … We’ve had events with 150 people, but this might have much more than that.”

Area residents are invited to attend the free event and bring their kids, but there will not be presents for every kid who shows up; just the 91 the party is for.