The Cowboys have turned their full attention to this weekend’s game with Philadelphia.

But there was an important stop to make before that happened.

“We’re in December football,’’ receiver Michael Gallup said Monday morning after concluding a visit to Children’s Medical Center. “Everybody knows that. This is crunch time. At the same time, you’ve got to be able to give back.

“These kids give us more joy than they even know, coming in there giving us high fives, telling us about what they’re going through, what they have going on.

This is an annual event. The Cowboys players and cheerleaders have conducted visits to local children’s hospitals for the past 34 years. That group broke into four groups Monday with trips to Children’s Medical Center, Scottish Rite, Medical City and Cook Children’s Medical in Fort Worth.

Each child the players and cheerleaders visited received a stocking gift bag from the club as well as a mini-football provided by UnitedHealthcare.

“It’s pretty simple for us,’’ Gallup said. “All you have to do is go out there and put a smile on somebody’s face. But they put a bigger smile on our faces, to be honest.

“I was up there playing bingo with a little girl. I mean, it’s just fun. It’s something I feel everyone should do at least one time.”

Did he win?

“I lost at bingo,” Gallup said. “But we’ll be back.

“We’ll be back.”

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