How to run a toy drive or holiday car show
A holiday car show is about giving, and the classic version, like a Toys for Tots car show, asks for a toy at the gate. This guide covers how to run a toy drive or holiday car show on Car Show HQ, which fits that model and adds a way to bring in more. Let people pay at the event or add a donation on top of the toy they carry in, and turn on a tip jar so anyone can give a little extra in the season of it. Take entries online or at the gate, print a windshield card for each car, and let the crowd vote from their phones. Every dollar goes to your cause's own Square account, because we never hold your funds.
A toy at the gate leaves money on the table
Bring-a-toy is a lovely tradition, but a pile of toys and a cash box is hard to run and hard to grow. Someone has to watch the money and count the ballots, and there is no easy way for a person to give a bit more when the holiday spirit moves them at the gate.
So a holiday car show that could raise real money on top of the toys often just breaks even at the gate, and all that goodwill in the room never turns into extra help for the kids who need it.
The three tools that matter most here
For a holiday car show, it comes down to pay-at-event giving and an easy tip jar on top of the toys.
Fundraising
A donation tip jar and priced sponsor tiers turn holiday goodwill into more than a pile of toys.
Learn more →Registration and payments
Take a toy plus a donation at the gate, paid into your cause's own Square account. We never hold your funds.
Learn more →Results and awards
A quick people's choice tallied for you the moment voting closes, so nobody counts in the cold.
Learn more →How to run a toy drive or holiday car show in five steps
Pick the cause and connect Square
Link the cause's own Square account so every dollar lands with the toy drive or fund, not with us.
Keep the toy, add a donation
Ask for a toy at the gate and offer a pay-at-event donation on top for anyone who wants to give more.
Turn on the tip jar
Let attendees round up with a tip in the giving season, an easy way to bring in a little extra when they register or vote.
Print windshield cards and open voting on site
Each card carries a QR code. People scan it at the show, enter a car number, and vote from their phones.
Announce winners and the total given
When voting closes the tally is ready, so you hand out awards and celebrate the toys and the dollars collected.
Toy drive and holiday show questions, answered
How do you run a Toys for Tots car show?
Keep the tradition of a toy at the gate, then add a pay-at-event donation and a tip jar on Car Show HQ so supporters can give more than a toy. Take entries online or at the gate, run on-site QR voting for awards, and send every dollar to the cause's own Square account, because we never hold your funds.
Can you collect both toys and money at a holiday car show?
Yes. You can ask for a toy at the gate and offer an optional pay-at-event donation on top, plus a tip jar for anyone who wants to give a little extra in the season. The toys go to the drive and every dollar lands in your cause's own Square account.
Where does the money go?
Straight into the cause's own Square account. Car Show HQ is never the merchant of record and never holds your funds, so donations and entry fees land with the toy drive or fund, and refunds are handled in Square.
How does voting work at a holiday show?
Voting is on site only. Each car gets a windshield card with a QR code, and spectators scan it to cast one vote from their phone, with duplicate protection. The people's choice is tallied the moment voting closes, so nobody counts ballots in the cold.
See a holiday show in the demo
Click through a seeded holiday show with pay-at-event giving, a tip jar, and a full tally, so you can see how much more a toy drive can raise before you set anything up.
