A staple tradition of the holiday season kicks off tomorrow at the Avalon Mall with the launch of the 50th Annual Happy Tree campaign in partnership with VOCM Cares.

The golden milestone of giving begins shortly after 9 a.m. in the food court for breakfast with Santa.

The big guy will then lead a procession of excited kids down to the Happy Tree near Lululemon which will feature a musical performance from the Quintessential Vocal Ensemble.

Avalon Mall marketing co-ordinator Samantha Barker says the 400-plus tickets for the breakfast sold out within minutes.

“We’re just really excited to be celebrating 50 years with the Happy Tree this year,” she said. “The Avalon Mall, we have a lot of partners that share their values centred around uplifting our community, so we’re just super excited to be hosting this with VOCM again this year.”

Avy the Elf is also back this year, continuing the tradition for “Happy”, who retired last year.

Donations of unwrapped gifts and gift cards for the Happy Tree can be dropped off any time at the nearby bin.