Nicole Richie and Joel Madden treat 200 children to a Christmas party

Pregnant socialite Nicole Richie and her rocker boyfriend Joel Madden treated 200 children to a special Christmas party on Saturday.

The couple - who are due to become parents for the very first time in January, organized the party at the Paramount Studios in Los Angeles, for Children From Beyond Shelter - a charity program which helps families beat homelessness and poverty - as part of their Richie-Madden Children's Foundation, which they set-up when they learned that Nicole, 26, was pregnant.

Joel told People magazine: "It's fun for us to be with a bunch of kids who are having a good time. They make you smile. Hopefully for today they're feeling special.

"The foundation is really important to me and Nicole. We're just really happy to be a part of the community and celebrating with these kids who haven't been as fortunate as us."

Richie and Madden handed out new pairs of shoes and teddy bears to the kids.

Nicole joined in as the children enjoyed face-painting, balloon animals and hot dogs, and was cheered by the children as she shouted, "Who wants to throw pies in Joel's face?"