The paper ornaments on the Christmas trees at Wal-Mart and the Community Center may not be fancy, but the ornaments serve a special purpose. On each paper decoration there is a wish for a gift to help brighten the holidays for a Guilford senior.

The gift-wish ornaments are a part of Home Instead Senior Care’s “Be A Santa to Senior” program. “Be a Santa to a Senior” began in 2003 in Guilford, where Home Instead has a home office. Since that time, it’s spread across the area into community programs and businesses including those in Branford, North Branford, East Haven, Madison and more.

Home Instead’s shoreline “Be a Santa to a Senior” has grown from 146 gifts delivered in its first year to what’s anticipated to be 1,000 across the shoreline this holiday season, said Home Care Consultant David Lapic. The process for gift giving is simple — take an ornament, purchase the requested item, return it to the original location to be wrapped and distributed in time for the holidays. Home Instead staff and volunteers pick up gifts from collection points, then wrap them and return them to the communities, where local volunteers will make deliveries.

The wishes are simple — like a warm sweatshirt, a box of candy or grocery store gift certificate. Lapic said the ornaments are coded to protect the identity of the senior but indicate the sex of the senior and their desired gift.

“The local social workers identify, reach out to, and get gift ideas from the seniors they serve,” he said. “The gifts are then distributed, usually at a Christmas party in a Senior community. These parties are coming up soon.”

Lapic said he has been trying to spread the word about the program through community events and local media to make sure no senior gets left behind.

“I don’t want to see any senior in our Shoreline communities disappointed,” he said. “However, the other day the department manager at Wal-Mart who oversees their participation told me she’s not worried. Just before Christmas one of her customers comes in and takes care of any remaining ornaments.”

While the program is really about giving to seniors, Lapic said participating is a nice thing to do for us too.

“It’s a modest way to celebrate the abundance in our lives and maybe help a child to do the same,” he said. “And, during this hectic season it helps us to realize we really are the kind of person who would do this for a complete stranger, and without any recognition.”

The “Be A Santa to a Senior” trees are located at Wal-Mart, 900 Boston Post Road, and the Community Center, 32 Church Street, in Guilford. Trees can also be found at the Stop and Shop, Robert’s Food Center, and Senior Center in Madison, the Stop and Shop and Blackstone Library in Branford, the Community Center and Altwater Library in North Branford, and the Stop and Shop and Senior Center in East Haven.