Students kicked off the holiday season with the spirit of building and giving, as approximately 195 students from downtown’s Monarch School, Barrio Logan’s Perkins Elementary School and Southeast San Diego’s Kimbrough Elementary volunteered at the Manchester Grand Hyatt to create the fourth annual “Toys for Tots Gingerbread Village.” The village includes dozens of gingerbread houses surrounding a 6-foot gingerbread replica of the Hyatt, an official Toys for Tots drop-off location. Parents can take the kids and an unwrapped gift to the festive village and vote for your favorite house; Hyatt will make a cash donation to the local Make-A-Wish Foundation in the names of the winning students. Dec. 1-26, 5 a.m.-1 a.m. in the Grand Lobby, 1 Market Place, (619) 232-1234. — Staff and contribution