MONDAY, DEC. 16

At some point or another, we’ve all been told by our exasperated parents that Christmas isn’t supposed to be all about “what you’re gonna get.” But let’s face it, for children, Christmas without a new toy is like a wedding without dancing; it doesn’t feel right without it. There are a few organizations around the city that are now accepting donations in order to meet their goals before their annual drives, some of which take place before Christmas Day.

Below, we’ve listed a couple of local organizations currently accepting donations. All kinds of toys are accepted so long as they are new and unwrapped. C’mon, do it for the kiddos.

The Crest Christmas Toy Drive

Flyer courtesy The Crest/Facebook.

Until Friday, Dec. 20 you can donate a toy at The Crest bar, located at 5935 Cherry Ave. You can drop off your donations during their business hours which are from 2 p.m. to 2 a.m. Monday-Friday and 12 p.m. to 2 a.m. Saturday and Sunday. All toys will be given to the Long Beach Children’s Hospital.

For more information, you can view their Facebook page, here.

Holiday for Heros Toy Drive/ Spark of Love

Flyer courtesy Liberty Pacific Advanced Imaging Long Beach/Facebook.

ABC7 and Southern California regional fire department’s 27th Annual Spark of Love, which is one of the biggest toy drives in the region, is partnering with RadNet, a radiology firm that is the largest provider of outpatient imaging services in the US.

There are dozens of locations to choose from, each with their own hours of operation, but four of the closest include the Liberty Pacific Advanced Imaging facility in Signal Hill (2708 E Willow St.), The Los Coyotes Women’s Center (3320 Los Coyotes Diagonal Site #260), The MemorialCare Imaging Center (3828 Schaufele Ave. Site #250) and Lakewood Open MRI (3715 E South St.).

More than 500,000 toys were collected in 2018 and this year Spark of Love hopes to double the number. Donations will be accepted at these aforementioned locations until Dec. 20.

To find all of the RadNet regional locations participating with Spark of Love, click here.

Another great thing: That warm fuzzy feeling you’ll have knowing you’ll bring a smile to a child’s face.

Giving us a moment’s pause: For parents sake, may we suggest not donating any plush toys that—when squeezed—emit a song with lyrics relating to, oh, a baby shark.