NEW YORK -- Major League Baseball had that Christmas spirit late Friday afternoon. Volunteers from the league went to the Variety Boys & Girls Club in Astoria and gave kids from ages 6-13 special treats that put smiles on all their faces.

It's the 22nd consecutive year MLB has partnered with the Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) on yearly initiatives that support underserved youth nationwide across over 5,000 BGCA clubs, but Friday was the first time in MLB history that it didn¡¯t have the event in the New York office. For the company, It was best to visit the kids at their own turf, a move that proved to be successful.

¡°It¡¯s always a season of giving and we love it when we have partners like MLB who can help us give an amazing day to our kids. We are thankful for all of this,¡± said Leah Carter, the chief advancement officer of Variety Boys & Girls Club of Queens. "It means joy and laughter. It means happy faces all around. It means the world to us that such a large national partner cares enough to come into our building and be a part of this with us.¡±

The special event started with a hot meal that included pizza, chicken fingers and potato wedges with juice and water to wash the food down.

Then, the kids were given a magic show put together by magician Randy Masters and his wife, Angela Carranza. Masters had coins coming out of the kids¡¯ ears. He even showed how to stretch a dollar -- literally, by several inches.

¡°It¡¯s extra special this time of year. It¡¯s all about the giving. I love how the kids are energetic. It¡¯s a magical time of the year. I live for this,¡± Masters said.

The children then took photos with Santa Claus before receiving their gifts, which ranged from a scooter to a chemistry set. Additionally, the kids were given puzzles and games produced by MLB.

¡°I think that shows what kind of organization that we are,¡± said John Schwarz, MLB¡¯s manager of community affairs. "We are first class. We try to do right by the community, bringing things of value to this club. And Boys & Girls Clubs of America are an amazing partner to us, and we want to be an amazing partner to them. In the spirit of giving, we tried to deliver this year.¡±

There was a reason MLB was able to buy great gifts. The kids from Astoria wrote a wish list, which was collected by MLB Together. MLB¡¯s social responsibility platform. MLB employees signed up to buy a gift and fulfill a specific child¡¯s wish.

¡°I¡¯m super proud to work on this event every year,¡± Schwarz said. ¡°Our employees are super generous. They bought a gift for the kids at this particular Boys & Girls club. It¡¯s amazing for our employees to be here after hours to make this happen.¡±

Next year, MLB hopes to once again bring the Christmas party to the Boys & Girls Club, which is the model Schwarz will follow moving forward.

¡°We want to take baseball to the Boys & Girls Club. We did that here and I hope we created some fans of the game,¡± he said. ¡°We go to them rather than come to us.¡±