After Dec. 21, Yvonne Pettus will once again have open space in her family room, garage and laundry room.
For weeks, the Catonsville resident had filled those those rooms in her home on Brucetown Court with toys and food as part of American Legion Jackson and Johnson Memorial Post No. 263's effort to spread holiday cheer to area families.
Pettus said it will take several vehicles to transport all of the items to the post headquarters on Winters Lane, where they will package and hand out baskets of food and toys.
Led by a committee of eight, the program combines the forces of the post's three branches, the legioneers, auxiliary and Sons of the American Legion.
The goal is for each branch to rustle up enough donations to feed 10 families in need and provide toys to the children.
"I wanted to get involved with something where we could help people in some way," said Pettus, 54, a member of the legion's auxiliary.
"We've always done food drives, but it seemed like only a couple of families (benefited)," Pettus said. "I wanted to do something big."
The food baskets vary in size, depending on the number of people in the family. Each includes family-sized portions of breakfast, lunch and dinner.
The event is similar to the Thanksgiving food drive the post conducted a month ago, Pettus said, but bigger.
A typical basket, Pettus said, includes bacon, eggs, pancake mix and hot chocolate for breakfast; soup, supplies for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and juice for lunch; turkey, stuffing, gravy and vegetables for dinner; and Jello for dessert.
Catonsville resident Jeffrey Sewell, a member of the Sons of the American Legion, is among the 20 post members who volunteered this year.
"It's a meal for a whole day, but it'll actually last a week," said Sewell, 53, a life-long Catonsville resident. "It's a joy to see the expressions on people's faces when they come to accept baskets.
"It's something we take pride in," he said. "We enjoy doing it."
About five dozen youth, ranging in age from toddlers to teens, will also receive gifts, Pettus said, collected from donations from legion members.
Pre-teens will receive dolls, trucks, games and books. Teens will receive hats, scarves, gloves and gift certificates.
The legion gives the toys only to families in Catonsville.
Recipients are selected from suggestions from legion members, the Grace African Methodist Episcopal Church on Winters Lane, Westowne Elementary School that draws from the community and the Banneker Community Center, Pettus said.
Bonita McMorris, a rec assistant at Banneker Community Center, said the center gave the legion the names of 10 families in need.
On Dec. 9, the legion provided the community center with drinks and desserts at its 10th annual Home for the Holidays event that gave out about 500 toys to area children.
"It's a great partnership," McMorris said. "We hope it continues."
Pettus plans to bring back the gift basket giveaway for a third consecutive year in 2012 and will start planning for it as early as January, she said.
Despite the long hours it takes to prepare for the event, Pettus said the looks on the faces of the children and the families as they receive the baskets and toys makes it more than worth it.
"I don't want to think of it as a task. It's a good feeling," Pettus said. "I don't that we don't get more joy than the families that are getting it."