‘Tis the season for Toys for Tots.

Toys for Tots of Northwest Michigan has announced that it will kick off its annual toy drive campaign this weekend – and that the campaign “will have a different look this year.” Specifically, the kickoff will take the form of a drive-through toy donation event at Fox Grand Traverse Collision Center in Traverse City, running from noon to 2pm this Saturday, November 22.

“This is our way to let everyone know that the Toys for Tots campaign is up and running,” local campaign coordinator Maggie Kent said of the drive-through kickoff. “We have a huge task ahead of us to ensure that every child in the region can have a great Christmas.”

In 2024, the local Toys for Tots campaign collected nearly 35,000 toys and distributed them to more than 5,000 local children. Due to a variety of economic factors, Kent said in the press release that requests for toys are expected to be up this year compared to last.

Santa will be on hand at Saturday’s kickoff to greet donors as they go through the drive-through, and “a limited number of day water park passes from the Great Wolf Lodge will be available” for those donating toys, according to a press release. The United States Coast Guard will do a flyover at 12:45pm. After the kickoff event, the local Toys for Tots campaign will have more than 100 toy drop-off locations “scattered across the region” in the coming weeks.

Locally, Toys for Tots partners with 14 human services agencies across five counties to distribute toy, including the Father Fred Foundation, Salvation Army, Leelanau Christian Neighbors, Benzie Christian Neighbors, KAIR, and Project Feed the Kids.

More information is available on the Toys for Tots website.