Holiday shopping for thousands of children is a complicated business.

Especially when you don’t really know how many children you are shopping for or how old they all are.

The Press Herald Toy Fund has done it for 75 years, ordering shipments of toys and books in the fall based on educated guesses about how many children of various ages will be in need of help during the holidays. If there was a bumper crop of 2-year-olds one year, for example, organizers buy more toys and books for 3-year-olds the following year just in case.

Even with all the practice, getting it right still requires a bit of luck, and sometimes a last-minute shopping spree.

If you noticed a man dashing through the halls of various stores around South Portland on Friday, perhaps pushing a cart that overflowed with games and toys, that wasn’t a Christmas elf. Toy Fund Operations Manager Jeff Ham made sure every child on his list had gifts for the holidays.

As you probably know by now, the Toy Fund received a surge of requests from parents this year. For organizers, it was a distressing sign of how so many families are struggling in the economy, but also a good sign that those parents knew where to turn for help — and were going to get it.

The surge prompted a second round of bulk orders for toys and books that were nearly enough to fill every request — except for an even bigger spike in the number of requests for one particular age group: 13- and 14-year-olds. So, with parents scheduled to make pickups this weekend, Ham went shopping.

The last-minute purchases come with some unanticipated costs, of course, and Toy Fund organizers are also hoping for a surge of last-minute donations from readers.

After all, it’s only because of their generosity that roughly 4,000 Maine children will soon experience the joy of gifts to unwrap, new toys to play with and new books to read.

HOW TO HELP

To make a donation online, go to pressherald.com/toy-fund.

Checks made out to the Portland Press Herald Toy Fund may be mailed to 295 Gannett Drive, South Portland ME 04106.

Names of donors are published in the Press Herald unless a donor wishes to remain anonymous.

TODAY’S DONATIONS:

In memory of my husband, Ted Brissette, missed but not forgotten    Evelyn Brissette    $150

Southern Maine Harley Owners Group    $150

In memory of Chas Towle Jr.     Anthony Curro      $500

Anonymous    $50

In memory of my mom, Thelma Gould     Anonymous    $50

In memory of my husband, Paul Clough, and our loved ones. He always donated.       Mary Clough      $1,000

Anonymous      $50

In loving memory of our daughter, Jennifer Henry    Don and Phyllis Chaffee    $100

In memory of Papa Joe M and Grammy Beano, from the family    Mary-Ann Proulx    $200

From J.J.    $100

Janice Gray    $200

David and Barbara Dulac    $250

Wayne and Paulette Burbank    $100

Walter and Ann Allan    $100

In memory of our parents, Sena and Warren Herbert, and Irene and Henry Ducharme    Judith and Gerald Ducharme    $50

In memoriam, Esther Marshall, former volunteer    Esther Pappas    $100

From the grandkids of Bob’s Welding Service (retired), Abby, Sam, Carly, Molly, Xavier and Maddox, best to all    Bob Dee    $100

Reynolds and Gail Farley    $55

Anonymous    $200

Paul Young    $25

Merry Christmas from Liam, Annie, Ella, Lauren and Kirsten    James Dunn    $200

Merry Christmas    Eugene and Jeanne King    $100

Women’s Riverside Golf Association    $1,625

William and Julie Schirmer    $25

Patricia Frederick    $100

Anonymous    $100

Anonymous     $200

In memory of my mother    Anonymous    $200

Anonymous    $100

Merry Christmas, Brew and Daisy, in memory of Lexxi and Penny    Willard and Daphne Warren    $1,000

In memory of my sister Cathy (Kitty) and my daughter Shelley     Ann Palmer    $50

For Brayden, Ava, Will and Harper    Robert and Janet DeVinney    $50

In memory of Wendy    Alison Smith    $100

Lynn and Theresa McCabe    $50

“Alle”    Susan Kane    $25

ALA H Reid Revocable Trust    $100

In memory of Bill Murphy    Arlene Murphy    $30

YEAR TO DATE: $129,641.25

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