How to give a toy, how to get toys for your kids, and how your business can host a box — every date and rule in one place, from the campaign's assistant coordinator, who also happens to be your neighbor.
The Flagler County Association of REALTORS® runs the Flagler County Toys for Tots campaign — it's the approved local organization for the program here. I'm Garrett Decker, a Marine Corps veteran (8½ years, two overseas deployments) and the campaign's assistant coordinator. I live in Seminole Woods with my family. This is my county.
Every year people in Palm Coast ask me the same three things: where do I drop a toy, how do I sign my kids up, and can my office hold a box. Here are the answers for 2026. Every date and rule below comes from the Flagler County campaign's own page or the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation's materials — the local page at palm-coast-fl.toysfortots.org is always the final word if anything shifts during the campaign.
| Date | What happens |
|---|---|
| October 1 | The campaign opens. Drop boxes start going out around the county, and toy requests open online the same day. |
| October 1 – November 15 | Families apply for toys. This window closes earlier than most people expect — don't wait for December. |
| November 16 – 23 | The campaign responds to applications. |
| December 1 – 15 | Distribution. Approved families are told their specific pickup date and location directly. |
| December 15 | Last pickup from drop-off sites. A toy dropped in a box after this may not reach a child this year. |
| December 23 | The campaign closes. |
Buy it new, leave it unwrapped, drop it before December 15. That's ninety percent of it. Here's the other ten.
Apply online between October 1 and November 15, and apply early. Go to palm-coast-fl.toysfortots.org and click Request Toys. A parent or legal guardian has to be the one who registers.
In the Foundation's own words: "Financial need — not race, religion, occupation, or background — is the determining factor." You have to live in Flagler County, because each campaign serves its own county. Ages 0–18. Military families apply exactly the same way as everyone else. There is no citizenship check.
The campaign responds between November 16 and 23. If you're approved, they tell you your pickup date and place directly. Distribution runs December 1 to 15. Last year, pickup was in person with your documents, and an alternate adult could pick up with a photo ID — confirm this year's details in your approval message.
I've watched what a hard year does to a family's December. If you need the help this year, that's what the program is for. If next year is better, be the one dropping a toy in the box. That's how it's supposed to work. In 2025 registration could close early once capacity was reached — don't gamble on the last week.
If you run an office, a shop, a gym, an HOA clubhouse or a church, you can hold a box. A standard box holds roughly 50 toys. Ten businesses on Palm Coast Parkway with a box each is 500 toys.
Campaign code FLPMCT on secure.toysfortots.org puts the dollars in the local coordinator's hands to fill the gaps in the boxes. Donations made here stay in Flagler County.
Toys get sorted by age and gender before distribution, and that's people-hours in early December. Call or text me at 386-449-9248 or email palm.coast.fl@toysfortots.org and ask what the campaign needs.
The family that needs toys is often the one that doesn't see the post. If you know somebody having a hard year, send them this page before November 15.
Take them to pick the toy. Let them put it in the box. It's the cheapest lesson in the whole season. And if you're a Marine, the Marine Corps League Flagler County Detachment 876 has supported this program for years — come find us.
The free seven-page guide has every 2026 date and rule, the ten mistakes people make every December with a one-line fix for each, and the drop-box checklist for businesses. No pitch.
Sources: Flagler County Toys for Tots campaign page (palm-coast-fl.toysfortots.org) and Local Impact figures for 2025; Marine Toys for Tots Foundation FAQ and coordinator materials (toysfortots.org, September 2026); Palm Coast Observer, December 2024; 211live.org, 2025. Dates and rules can change during a campaign — the local campaign page is the final word. Garrett Decker is a Broker Associate with The Decker Group, brokered by Navy To Navy Homes, and a volunteer assistant coordinator for the Flagler County campaign. This page is not an official Toys for Tots publication.
