For the first time, Toy Mountain in Vancouver allowed families in need to walk the aisles of a pop-up shop and choose whichever gifts they wanted.

Toy Mountain -- a Bell Media initiative in partnership with the Salvation Army -- is an annual toy drive aimed at giving every child a chance to have gifts under the tree during the holidays. Toy Mountain is accepting donations in Toronto, Barrie, London, Kitchener, Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton, Ottawa and Vancouver.

This year, Toy Mountain grew to more than 10,000 toys in Vancouver alone.

“We’ve been struggling and this is something I couldn’t afford on my own,” Alysen Ross, who visited the shop for her son O'Chollo, told CTV Vancouver. “I’m glad to see he’s going to have a good Christmas.”

In the past, the Salvation Army has sent Christmas hampers to each deserving family.