Wallets have been tight for many people affected by the closure of International Paper earlier this year. With Christmas around the corner, no parent should have to worry if there will be gifts under the tree on Dec. 25.

A few local women have collaborated to make sure every child gets some Christmas cheer this year.

Darby Fitzgerald, Tami Kesselring and Anne Marie Semple have been collecting toys and have organized a “Ladies’ Day Out Holiday Extravaganza” to benefit the U.S. Marine Corps’ “Toys for Tots” collection drive.

“With the mill closing down this year, so many families have been affected,” Fitzgerald said. “I know a lot of people who have had to move away or had to make sacrifices like moving into a smaller house or selling their home. I just wanted to do something to help out this holiday season.”

The extravaganza will be held on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Southampton Fairgrounds building.

The idea stemmed from Fitzgerald’s time at a previous employer that donated to the charity. Each year, she and her husband would deliver the toys.

“It’s a good feeling to do something like that,” Fitzgerald said. “There are children out there who may not have had a Christmas, and we don’t want that to happen in Franklin this year.”

The event will feature 40 vendors and include individual distributors for Pampered Chef, Scentsy, jewelry, clothing and many crafters.

Santa will be at the fairgrounds to take free pictures with children from noon to 4 p.m. The State Police will be fingerprinting children from 2 to 6 p.m.

The first 50 people to arrive will receive an exclusive discount sheet to use at the many vendor sites.

The Boy Scouts will be selling holiday wreaths, and Girl Scouts will be gift-wrapping.

All proceeds from food and other items sold to benefit Toys for Tots will go to the organization to purchase toys.

So far, about 100 toys have already been collected from vendors and individual businesses.

The YMCA and Pleasure Island Salon in Franklin have both donated to the cause. Fitzgerald’s husband has collected four boxes of toys from Langley Air Force Base, where he works.

There will also be locations set up to accept toy donations at the extravaganza for anyone who wants to donate to the cause.

Donated items must be new and can include books, clothing, games, arts and crafts, bicycles, accessories, stuffed animals and more.