These puppies will be among the seven animals the Ottawa Humane Society will deliver to new homes on Christmas morning. (Ottawa Humane Society)

The Ottawa Humane Society will deliver seven animals to new homes on Christmas morning as a surprise for children whose families adopted the pets weeks ago.

Tara Jackson, communications manager at the Ottawa Humane Society, said the shelter is relaxing its normal policy on Christmas adoptions because of the high number of animals in need of homes.

"Traditionally, we haven't been keen on holiday adoptions because we've been worried about people giving animals strictly as gifts to people who aren't prepared for the responsibility of owning an animal."

But Jackson said the four dogs and three cats were all adopted in accordance with humane society policies.

"That means that the parents came in weeks ago, filled out a questionnaire, met an adoption counsellor and then we've worked with them to find the best match for their family."

Jackson said volunteers wearing Santa hats will deliver the animals to their adoptive homes early Friday morning.

Depending on the family, the holidays can be a good time to adopt a pet, she said.

"For a lot of people the holidays are a really hectic time. But for other people it's a very quiet time. People are off work, kids are off school. So for some people it can be a very good time to integrate a pet into a home."