Thankful Thursday: Holiday Toy Drives

Even with all the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season, it's hard to miss how many opportunities there are to give this time of year. As the Salvation Army buckets say "Need knows no season," but this time of year is especially crucial to many charities. And as any parent knows, it's an important time in the lives of children. This time of year has a tendency to be a magical thing to a child. The twinkling lights, the Christmas trees, the music...and of course, the gifts from family and friends.

Now don't get me wrong. Christmas is NOT about the gifts. BUT it IS about giving. God showed His unbelieveable love to us by giving in the most extravegant way. We, in turn, have the opportunity to give to others, especially during this holiday season when we celebrate His gift.

Awhile back I wrote a post on delighting our children for Christmas. We want this time of year to stand out to them as something special. We want them to understand the significance of Christmas. We do this by teaching the reason behind the season and by creating wonderful memories for our sweet babies. However, for many parents, the financial strains make the holidays so difficult. They have the same desire to give their babies a wonderful Christmas as you and I do. They just don't have the means.

That's where we come in. We can make sure that every child has a gift this season- that there is some special toy they receive that says to them, "someone loves you, and this time of year is very special." And perhaps most of all, we can help to ease the inadequacy and discouragement of so many parents, especially with the economic situation so many people are finding themselves in these days. We have the opportunity to show love and to give out of our abundance.

I know sometimes it doesn't feel as though we have "abundance" but if giving becomes important enough to you, you can most always find a way. It doesn't have to be big. It doesn't have to be expensive. No one will ever know what you spent on that can of food, or that toy. Whether you spent $50 or got it for free, it will mean the same to the person who receives it. So...that being said, I hope that you will consider giving some toys for the holidays. I could list a ridiculous number of toy drives across the country, but in all honesty, they're easy to find. You can probably think of three places right this minute that are having toy drives.

The problem isn't finding a place to donate toys, it's finding toys to donate. That's where I can help. First of all...look around you. For many of you mommas you could literally probably just look around you from where you're sitting. Some of you have toys your children haven't and may never play with. They're as good as new. And they could be blessing some other child this Christmas instead of sitting collecting dust in your home. That's a good start. Toy drives may only take new toys, but you can always donate toys to hundreds of area charities and bless little ones this season.

Now, if you're looking for new toys to donate I'll give you a list of some current deals you can get on great toys. Remember, just because it's a great quality toy doesn't mean it has to be expensive.

Leap Frog currently has a whole section of toys for $7.99 or less. You can find it HERE. Also you can shop through Ebates and get 3% cash back. If this is your first purchase on Ebates, you can get a $10 gift card or $5 cash back bonus just too!

Family Christian Stores is having a 3 day sale December 10-12. During that time you can find Veggie Tales "It's a Meaningful Life" DVD for only $7.49. Remember this doesn't start until the 10th! Also they have a coupon available for 10% off now through 12/26.








Also, in the blog store (click the Shop My Store tab at the top of the page), there are several toys available from Amazon for under $10. Here are just a few...

The Melissa & Doug Friendship Stamp Set for $6.99

Pixos Micros Show 'n Glow Studio for $7.46

Pop On Pals Farmer/Doctor for $4.99

Playskool Wheel Pals Polar Party for $8.00

Thomas the Train Trackmaster Bill and Cargo Car for $4.99

Thomas and Friends: Holiday Express DVD for $8.99

Crayola Glow Explosion Spin Magic for $9.99

Llama Llama Holiday Drama Book for $8.87

Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer DVD Game for $5.99

Sometimes you can even MAKE money while doing your good deed. :) Here's a Crayola deal at Target that will make giving even sweeter.   (Thanks, Carie)

Target has a Gift Card Deal going right now…Get a FREE $5 Target Gift Card wyb 2 Pop Art Pixies

So take the Walgreens Ad into Target for a price match

Buy 2 Crayola Pop Art Pixies $5.99 (price match price, otherwise $9.99 each)

Use (2) $4/1 printable coupons HERE or

Use (2) $2/1 HERE or HERE

Pay as low as $3.98 (+tax)

Get back a $5 gift card

FINAL PRICE = both FREE + $1.04 Money Maker

If you're looking for a gift that will keep a little one warm this year...(not a toy, but still great) you might check out Old Navy on 12/11. They're having their One Day Wonder Sale with Performance Fleece Tops only $5.

Go HERE to print off some Hasbro Games coupons. Then hit up your local Target or Walmart and see what deals you can score. You can almost always get the Pictureka card games for just over $5 so you'd end up paying less than a buck!

Also using those coupons you can get the Hungry Hippos travel size game ($4.99) for FREE at Target or for $.24 at Walmart (priced at $5.24). There may also be a travel size version of Battleship at Target for about $4.99 so it'd be FREE too! Check it out! You might have to look for these in the travel section or the stocking stuffer section. EVERYONE can afford to give FREE stuff!

If you find an awesome toy deal out there, let us know in the comment section! Of course you can get some pretty great toys for your own kiddos for these prices, but please don't forget to pay it forward!