In preparation for the tons of toys my kids are sure to get this month, I’ve been clearing out their toy closet and video cabinet to make room for the new stuff. Imagine my surprise when I discovered our brand-new board games, still in shrink wrap, from either a birthday or holiday gone by, along with never-been-watched DVDs, also still in their original packaging.

Obviously, these games and movies didn’t really interest my kids, and there’s no reason to hang on to them. At the same time, I don’t want to just toss them either. Luckily, at this time of the year, I know that there are plenty of toy drives going on.

I already knew that national Toys R Us and Babies R Us locations always take donated toys, but the nearest store to me is a solid 40-minute drive away. Given that I didn’t want to spend time driving all over the place to make my donation, I was pleased to discover that the Toys for Tots website offers a search function for toy drop locations, which will make my job of donating these games and DVDs that much easier. I was pleased once again to find that with a couple of clicks of my mouse button, I was able to locate a fitness center, less than two miles away, where I can bring those toys today.

While Toys for Tots is an awesome way to get toys into the hands of needy kids and keep your unwanted toys out of the trash, it isn’t your only option. Here are some other ideas to consider when donating toys. You can donate them to a:

* Thrift Shop
Your toy will provide a double benefit. First, you’re allowing a family that might not be able to shop at the Toys R Us stores of the world an affordable way to buy holiday gifts for his or her family. And by donating your items to a thrift shop, you help it to raise funds through its sales. Look for thrift shops that are connected with good causes, like domestic violence shelters, or even the old standby–The Goodwill.

* Community Fire Department In Southern California, for example, an organization called Spark of Love runs fire-department toy drives.

* AnySoldier.com OK, so these guys aren’t kids, technically, but if they’re in combat, they could sure use some cheering up. Boardgamenews.com recently ran an item about donating board games to AnySoldier.com.

* Church or School’s “Giving Tree” Each year local churches and elementary schools (include the ones my daughters attend) set up a giving tree in the lobby, where you can take a child’s gift wish off of a tree, and buy what he or she asks for. This is a better option if you’d like to buy something new for a kid as opposed to donating something that once was new–and is still in the wrapping, like the toys I have to donate are. I mean, there’s no way of knowing if some kid at the school’s “Giving Tree” has asked for the game Sequence, one of the games I’ll be giving away.

If you have other ideas for donating toys beyond what I’ve discussed here, I’d love to hear them.