Published December 1, 2010

Update: The BPD has extended the deadline for “Toys for Tots” donations to Dec. 17.

(Sean Future/Flickr)

If you get a parking ticket in Boston today, tomorrow or Friday, you can be forgiven by donating a toy to a needy kid.

The toy value must be equal to or greater than the cost of the citation — this Barbie® I Can Be…™ News Anchor Doll won’t cut it if you forget to feed the meter, but the FurReal GoGo My Walkin’ Pup should cover it.

Sorry, but you won’t be forgiven for double parking or for parking in a handicap spot, in front of a fire hydrant, in the middle of a crosswalk, in front of a hydrant, in a no stopping/standing zone.

From the city’s parking website:

To participate in Toys for Tickets, drivers have from Monday, December 6th through Friday, December 10th to turn in the toys with a receipt from purchase, to either the Parking Clerk in Room 224 on the second floor of City Hall or the BTD Tow Lot at 200 Frontage Road.

The mayor’s office says the program yielded $3,000 worth of toys last year.

In other holiday parking news, metered parking is free on Saturdays until Dec. 26 to encourage shopping. A two-hour limit will still be enforced.