Neal Schon & Michaele Salahi -- Christmas Gift Strikes Rockin' Chord for Kids

Slap some jingle bells on Neal Schon ... 'cause the Journey guitarist just delivered a kick ass gift for some Bay Area high schoolers, and no ... it's not Michaele Salahi.

Neal and Michaele hit up his son's alma mater -- San Rafael High School -- to support their Christmas Tree sale on Thursday. They purchased an 18-footer ... the biggest one available, naturally.

Neal also donated some serious holiday loot to the school -- a custom guitar signed by Journey (see below) ... along with two "Eclipse" CDs, also signed by the band.

Cash from the tree sale goes to the school's music program -- and the axe is one sweet piece of memorabilia for the school to display.