Two Oakland natives began spreading holiday cheer after a whimsical decision 17 years ago drove them to give back to their childhood community.

A Christmas Eve joyride in 2009 became an unexpected gift for best friends Alex Cox and Alan Smith.

"Our families are doing last-minute shopping; we got to hang out as buddies," recalled Cox.

"We had a 1963 convertible Corvair with a booming sound system," Smith added.

"Then we're like, 'What should we do?'" smiled Cox.

"Basically, on a whim, decided to dress up as Santa and an elf," said Smith.

Wearing a Raiders cape and gold chains, Cox became "Knucklehead Santa," and Smith was "Chaz the Elf." They packed the car with their kids' gently used toys and dollar store purchases they picked up on the ride.

Where would they go?

"That was the moment in time that changed my life, Cox remembered. "I said, 'Let's go to my childhood home.'"

At the East Oakland house, they met the woman who now lives there. Before she let them in, Cox had to convince her that he had, indeed, lived there as a child, noting the bullet hole he recalled above the address number.

Then the gift-giving began.
      
"She bangs pots and pans and yells, 'Hey kids! Santa's here! Santa's here!" Cox said.

Knucklehead Santa and Chaz the Elf gave out gifts to kids who streamed into the street. One woman asked Knucklehead Santa for a picture with her child, saying he never had a picture with Santa.

There on the sidewalk, the pair took holiday photos with neighborhood children who received their gifts. And on the ride home, out of Oakland, it was a defining moment for Knucklehead Santa and Chaz.

"We were like, 'What just happened?'" Cox said.

"Just crying, literally tears of joy from these folks," Smith recalled. "It touched me. I changed me, and I know it changed Alex for sure."

So Smith and Cox formed a nonprofit, OakLuv. In the last 17 years, their all-volunteer nonprofit has given away thousands of toys each holiday season to at-risk kids in Oakland. It's adopted families, sponsored classrooms, and held cultural celebrations like the Fruitvale Posada.

In addition, OakLuv has given away $100,000 in grants to underserved moms in the last three years.

"We want to make sure they feel like they are VIPs," Cox says of all the nonprofit's beneficiaries.

OakLuv partners with community organizations such as Lincoln Families. The group's director of West Oakland programs and strategies, Chris Ngon, says the people they serve have no supermarket, bank or hospital, and OakLuv's donations of clothes, food and toys are critical.

"When Knucklehead Santa and his team of elves come on site, it's like, 'Whoa! It's that elevated energy," Ngon said. "The families feel the love. It's real. It's authentic."

Todd Marshburn, also known as Hot Toddy, has joined OakLuv as head operations elf in the last few years. He says Cox and Smith started something special that connects the community.

"It's these moments of kindness where we show up, whether it's a gift for a child, or a hug or a smile, to say, 'We see you, we appreciate you.' It really means the world," Marshburn said.

This year, the OakLuv team is hosting its biggest holiday party yet for some 700 families in Oakand's Fairyland on Friday. Registration is closed, but donations are still welcome.

"Who knew that whimsical day 17 years ago would turn into what it is today?" Cox said.

"It's a complete surprise and something I'm so proud of," Smith added.