For the second year in a row, two longtime Jacksonville-area Christmas toy giveaways for children will help Santa Claus in different formats because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
The 23rd annual Children's Christmas Party of Jacksonville will not be in person at its typical Prime Osborn Convention Center home, instead distributing toys to needy families through two child-serving nonprofits. And the 40th annual J.P. Hall Jr. Children's Charities Christmas Party in Green Cove Springs will return to the Clay County Fairgrounds on Dec. 18 but as a drive-thru toy distribution.
The decision to forgo the in-person event for the second year in a row was painful but necessary, Diane Halverson, executive director of the Jacksonville event, said.
Read the rest of this story at WJCT News partner The Florida Times-Union.