The photography room has been turned into Santa Claus’s workshop, tables overflow with wrapped packages, and the air is filled with photo chemicals, and there is a buzz of anticipation in the air.

The beginning photography classes’ ‘The Greatest Gift’ exhibit, went up on Dec 15 and will run until the second week of January. The exhibit, which is a collection of non-traditionally framed photos — such as photos attached to a wrapped box — examines the intangible gifts that people already have.

"I want people to walk around after all that time spent waiting for gifts [the winter break and Christmas] and instead think about gratitude, and maybe even open up their idea of what photography is," said photography teacher Margo Wixsom who organized the project.

The exhibit will be scattered throughout the school. "I wanted to put it up anywhere where you could find community at Paly, the library the offices, the ARC, every where," Wixsom said. The project included a few requirements to shift the average photography assignment into a viewer friendly exhibit.

"One thing you have to do is explain to your viewers what you’re doing, invite them into the party using an artists’ statement, or for this project we’ve called them gift tags," Wixsom said of the artists’ notes that will be attached to each piece. The students enjoyed producing the project.

"It made you think about what your actually grateful for," freshman photo student Ana Yañez said.

While some thought the exhibit was solely a fun holiday project, Wixsom had a hidden agenda.

"A lot of kids think this is just a easy holiday project but I slip in a lot of really important curriculum… It’s difficult to photograph intangible things like love and caring, but that’s what I ask them to do," Wixsom said. "It’s easy to take a picture of an ipod on a table, but as photographers you can’t do that. You have to make it jump out. It’s easy to take a boring photo but they can’t do that."

The benefits aren’t just for photography students. "I want people to be thankful for what they have and see what others are thankful for," freshman photo student Vicki Morton said. Too see the exhibit which includes what others are thankful for, go to one of the exhibition locations, the academic resource center, library, main offices, and math resource center.