MANATEE COUNTY - Manatee County school children put the United States Navy on their Christmas card list.

Over 5,000 handmade greeting cards are being shipped out Thursday afternoon. 

It takes six weeks for these cards to reach the sailors deployed out at sea, but the mom who organized the school cards on the Suncoast says this project already put her in the Christmas spirit, because of how much these kids cared to help.

Nolan Middle School employee, Karen Bonanno, let's us take a peak at some special Christmas gifts; thousands of handmade cards written by school children. "I work for the school system, so I thought they would give me at least 2,000...to my surprise I got over 5,000!"

They are all going to Navy sailors onboard the U.S.S. Nimitz, where Bonanno's 19-year-old son is stationed.

It's a project by “Navy 4 Moms”, an organization of moms wanting to give our service men a piece home for the holidays, and Manatee County school children were happy to make a card. "Some of them are just beautiful. From little tiny kids in preschool to high school ages, and they're just phenomenal cards."

She is thrilled that kids got into the giving spirit, but Bonanno unfortunately forgot to ask for shipping donations. "I didn't expect to get hit with as many cards as I did. I figured 3 or 4 boxes and I figured that it wasn't too bad. Now I have 27 boxes!"

Shipping all of this will cost her over $300, but this is one present she's happy to bend her budget for. "It makes me feel great knowing that they'll have that stuff to open on Christmas morning. It's a wonderful feeling."