On Thursday, the Oshkosh Fire Department used its station on Algoma Boulevard for its 26th annual toy and food drive, which spans multiple nights in December. For multiple nights in December, the Oshkosh Fire Department collects donations for its 26th annual toy and food drive. Usually the OFD drives through neighborhoods to collect donations, but because of the cold, they collected at their station on Thursday night. Last year the department collected over $40,000 worth of toys.(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story, edited for web)It's fantastic, it gets me in the holiday spirit," John Holland, public information officer for the OFD, says.Multiple nights every year, the OFD hosts a toy and food drive for the Salvation Army. They also collect money for a scholarship program that helps high schoolers who are looking to pursue a career in fire or police. Last year, the fire department collected over 5,000 pounds of food and $40,000 in toys, according to Holland.The Oshkosh people, their generosity is so heartwarming every year," Holland says. Usually the department will drive a lit up old fire truck around Oshkosh neighborhoods to collect donations.On Thursday however, they had to change plans. "Mother nature has not been on our side," Holland says. The OFD had to cancel multiple nights this year because of bad weather.We thought 'there is no way we can cancel it again'," Holland says. So on Thursday, the OFD ran collections out of their fire station.Took some fancy dancing, but here we are with plan B, and hoping for the best," Holland says. Among the most grateful, was Santa Claus himself.The elves have been working really hard, but sometimes, you know, with budget cuts and everything, its really tough, so it really helps to bring in some of that extra toys and food," Claus says.Holland says the toy drive proves to him that the holiday spirit is still alive in Oshkosh.We always hear about the bad things that are going on, and to see this and to see the amount of donations that we get from the people of Oshkosh, it really reaffirms your faith in humanity," he says.