NAHANT — This year, the Police Department will be going the extra mile to ensure there’s a toy under the tree for those in need, even if that means using a massive Humvee to make their yearly collections.

In order to accommodate the increasing popularity of the event, the Police Department will be utilizing the Emergency Management Department’s heavy-duty transportation vehicle.

This new decision was prompted by the overwhelming communal response to the toy drive in previous years. For example, in 2022, one of the cruisers was stuffed so full of toys that it had to be emptied out multiple times before it could make more collections. The following year, two additional cruisers had to be used.

Gifts for children will be collected in the Humvee, which will be parked in front of the police station until Dec. 15. The Police Department requested that the gifts be new, unwrapped, and appropriate for ages 5 to 13. A few suggestions for gifts are Lego sets, board games, sketchbooks and sporting goods.

Donations collected during the event will go to the Boys and Girls Club of Lynn, which serves more than 1,500 youth ages 5 to 18 within the surrounding communities, the press release added.

“Nahant is a small town with a big heart, but we have been blown away by the incredible outpouring of support these last two years,” Chief Timothy Furlong said. “We feel that a great number of children in the area will have gifts to open during the holiday. We thank our residents for their generosity.”