On a Saturday morning in Surrey, British Columbia, families lined up outside Ocean Park Hall for first pick of the toys. By the time the doors closed two hours later, hundreds of new and used toys had found new homes.
It was the fourth annual Ocean Park Toy Swap, held on Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026, and it worked on a simple idea. Families shopped for what their children needed, and they paid by donation.
Organizer Kelsey Findlay can be reached through the TOTL Real Estate Team website. Read the original here.
“Parents Have Told Us They’re Scaling Back On Holiday Gifts”
That line comes from organizer Kelsey Findlay, who leads the volunteer team behind the swap. She says the event exists partly because family budgets are tight heading into the holidays.
“This lets kids still have something to unwrap,” Findlay says. For a parent trying to stretch a December budget, that is a real relief.
More Than 40 Households Cleaned Out The Toy Box
The toys did not appear out of thin air. More than 40 households dropped off donations this year, handing over games, dolls, trucks and stuffed animals their own kids had outgrown.
Before the doors opened, volunteers checked and sorted every toy. Families arrived to a hall where the work was already done, and they could simply browse and choose.
Findlay is candid about how much effort that takes. “It’s a lot of work, hours and hours,” she says.
“Nothing Goes In The Garbage”
What happens to the toys nobody picks? That is where the swap gets clever. Unclaimed toys go to local daycares and thrift stores, and stuffed toys that are worn out go to animal shelters.
“Nothing goes in the garbage,” Findlay says. She also points to the bigger picture: “It also keeps perfectly good toys out of the landfill, which is a win for everyone.”
That is a message any decluttering parent can appreciate. A toy that is gathering dust in one house can be the highlight of another child’s morning.
The Neighbors Behind The Swap
The swap is organized by Robyn Stroud, Lance Brown, Kelsey Findlay, Megan Pottinger and Craig Mitchell, advisors with Engel and Volkers real estate in the area. Findlay leads the event itself.
Why do they do it? “It’s my way of giving back,” she says, and “It’s just us doing good in the community.”
She adds that seeing the results is what keeps the team going. “It’s a reminder that what we’re doing is making a difference.”
Why A Toy Swap Beats Another Trip To The Store
Children’s toys are one of the fastest things a household outgrows. Many are played with for a few weeks and then sit in a bin for years.
A swap solves two problems at once. Parents who are drowning in plastic get their floors back, and parents who are watching every dollar get gifts without the price tags.
Because the Surrey event ran on donation, nobody was turned away for lack of cash. Families paid what they could, and the money and goodwill kept the whole thing going.
Start A Toy Swap Of Your Own
You do not need a hall full of volunteers to try this in your own neighborhood. A church basement, a school gym, a community center or even a few driveways on the same Saturday can work.
Start small and set a date a few weeks before the holidays so families have time to plan. Ask neighbors to bring toys that are clean, complete and safe, and ask for batteries to be included where needed.
Check donated toys before they go on the tables. Look for broken pieces, loose parts, missing batteries covers and anything that has been recalled. Sorting ahead of time, as the Surrey volunteers did, keeps the event safe and the tables tidy.
Decide in advance what happens to leftovers. Line up a daycare, a thrift store or a shelter before the event so that nothing ends up in a dumpster. That one step is what let the Surrey organizers say, with a straight face, that nothing goes in the garbage.
Finally, keep it low pressure. A donation jar or a pay-what-you-can sign lets every family take part with their heads held high.
Fewer toys at home, happier kids on Christmas morning, and less waste headed to the landfill. It is a rare trade where everybody comes out ahead, and a few neighbors in Surrey have now done it four years in a row.
If you have a toy bin that has been overflowing since last winter, this may be the season to pass it along. Somebody else’s child is probably waiting for exactly that truck or doll.
What Parents Can Take From Surrey
If your own house is overflowing, the Ocean Park Toy Swap offers a gentle way to declutter without guilt. Instead of tossing toys in the trash, you hand them to families who will use them, which feels a lot better than a landfill run.
Try the same idea with your kids. Let each child pick a few toys to pass along, and explain that another child will enjoy them. Children who help choose tend to let go more easily, and the lesson in sharing lasts longer than the toy.
It also helps to rotate what stays. Keep a small basket of favorites in the playroom, store a few others out of sight, and swap them every month or so. Toys that feel new again are less likely to be begged for in the toy aisle.
And when the holidays come, a few well-chosen gifts, whether new or lovingly used, often mean more to a child than a mountain of wrapping paper. The Surrey swap proves that kids still have plenty to unwrap when neighbors look out for each other.
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