What do you do for charities around christmas time?

[Lifeisshort123]

I was wondering what other do to teach their children about helping those in need over the christmas period?
We always do christmas shoeboxes as I have had the opportunity to hand deliver these boxes and its a very personal thing for me, I also let each of my kids pick out an item of food for our local food bank of there choice as long as it was on the list. I was thinking of doing the shoeboxes and something else apart from letting the kids pick something for our local food bank.
I know its only september but christmas will be here before we know it!

Ah ok, that's understandable. It's something though and it's certainly better than nothing!
I don't tend to buy charity Christmas cards as they tend to be quite expensive especially when my 5yr old wants to write a card to every single person in his class ect. We usually buy Christmas cards from the card factory usually in packs of 20.

I always take books for child in to the local hospital collection, a Santa takes gifts out on the children's ward

I did last year take a lot of food in to food bank, tinned stuff, buscuits, twiglets, chocolate, crackers and I will this year

I brought some cheap blankets & gloves and gave to the local homeless charity they walk round and give them out

I also send 3 shoe boxes of stuff out to Africa ( sweets, book, colour pencil, blanket or scarf and a few other small bits)

I donate to charity each month but donate an extra £10--£20 in December, every little helps doesn't it

We do the Shelter thing too - pay for a homeless person to have Christmas Dinner.

I'm pretty sure the collection this year is the 1st-18th of November :)
The school my 4 & 5yr old attend does collect shoeboxes during the collection week. However, my oldest daughters school doesn't they collect food items for our local food banks so I always give her a £2-£3 to buy some items so she can pick what she'd like to donate rather than me just handing something to her. We then donate the shoeboxes to the school but we used to give the shoeboxes to my daughters brownies. Most schools do either the shoeboxes or something to help the less fortunate.

What are the shoeboxes that everyone is referring to? Is this something done via school? DD will only just be going into Reception next week.

Last year I bought a couple of children's presents to give to charity - but couldn't find a local charity to give them too. I'm determined to find a good home for them this year.

Crisis have this on their website community.crisis.org.uk/reserve-a-place-general?attr1=tag%7Creserve

x-post with Life - thanks for explaining the shoe boxes.

We donate to the main charity we support in May/June, not Christmas time. We volunteer with the children at the same charity (homeless shelter) year-round - prepping veg/serving lunch etc. At Christmas we usually do toys for tots at our church and also a christmas gift wrap at the shelter - they do a nice job explaining that the gloves and hats are likely the only present most of the recipients will get and also usually have someone who used to use the shelter but is now in permanent housing talk to the volunteers to explain his/her journey. I don't think of the volunteering as us really helping out but more of a way to show us and the kids why we give to this charity. I expect them to be grateful for the opportunity to volunteer.

I also give money to my cleaner at christmas to help out people in her church. I think she is a go-to person for people in need in her community.

What a sweet idea for the children who are in hospital around the Christmas period. I think we may buy some more sort of treat items for christmas for our food bank instead of the usual rice pudding, rice and pasta that we'd usually buy. Every little certainly does help, it's nice to know so many people help other out during the Christmas period especially.

I don't actually do anything special at Christmas. Most charities are overwhelmed at that time of year. Our local foodbank actually gets more than they can handle on Christmas Eve with everyone doing the advent box idea and it just sits there until New Years when they can get around to doing something with it. If you're going to do that, do it in November so the charity has time to distribute everything before Christmas.

I actually do most of my donating in the middle of year as that's when their donations drop off.

I've just looked into this and even if we don't do it this year we will do it in a few years time if it's still running perhaps even next christmas!
It looks like a lovely thing to do for a homeless person. I also love the fact that they are allowed to have a warm shower as I am sure lots of them wouldn't of had a shower in weeks perhaps even months. Thanks for the suggestion.

Maybe we could do it for the month of November instead for a pre-christmas kind of thing.
Thanks for this information. We donate an item each month and usually quite a few items at Christmas time but perhaps we can donate the extra items at the start of summer instead maybe :)
If not then even if we do donate during Christmas time they will get the food to the people who need it eventually.

I had forgotten that my friend collects new pjs/socks/slippers/swimwear in her sons name for children at great ormond Street to have new pjs etc at Christmas. So whenever I see any on sale I grab them for the collection throughout the year. I don't notice it quite so much but a buy a few sets per month or if a big sale I buy a load.

Was going to suggest www.crisis.org.uk/pages/christmas.html
But someone has beaten me to it!

Do the children get these to wear on the ward/as presents or does the hospital keep them for spares?

January/February are always good months to donate because everyone is feeling the pinch from Christmas.

They keep them. Because there is a lot of treatment going on and low immune systems they need brand new. They also have some spare so that if you end up there without any of your things then at least you have some nightclothes which are yours. My friend Also collectsounds nightclothes/slippers for parents so they have something too.

Good point

Why do you wait until Xmas to show your children what charity is? Surely it is a year round thing! I spend several hours a week volunteering at a local hospice and DC joins me at least once a week, all year around.

The Xmas shoe thing, that schools run is pretty vile. It is run by Samaritan’s Purse, a huge and zealous organisation led by Franklin Graham, son of the infamous evangelist Billy Graham. Not only is the organisation openly homophobic, it seeks to proselytise in a manner that most people, including liberal Christians, find unacceptable.

I am naturally disgusted by the idea of people performing evangelical work with the intended purpose of conversion; but I am positively offended when this work is performed at the expense of vulnerable children in desperate situations across the globe. DON'T donate to it.

What a lovely idea of hers! Does she collect things like fluffy socks to keep the kids feet warm as well?
I've got a son with special needs and whilst he was in hospital it was a nightmare as they never had spare clothes that fitted him and they were always low on spare clothes especially nightclothes. We could of done with a spare pair of PJ's for him on several occasions. I wonder if my local hospital would be instrested in having some new PJ's donated I wouldn't mind buying some christmas PJ's in the sale in Jan/Feb of 2017 and donating them for Christmas next year.

We're in London and do the Met Christmas tree appeal.
You sign up online and get given an age and boy/girl then deliver your gift to a police station.

Donate hats/blankets to my local hospital all year round as I knit them tiny for the neonatal ward.

Budget permitting I'd like to add in some food bank bits but have just filed for divorce and finances are somewhat limited at present! Maybe by December things will improve.
Dd loves the idea of the gift though.

That's cool, Isn't it for children in care in the UK?
When do they allow you to sign up online?
It sounds like something my kids will enjoy as they love doing the shoeboxes and picking out things for the foodbank so much.
I'm sorry for your breakup :(
I hope things improve!

Awesome!

So is this about making children feel good or actually helping people?

Thank you everyone for sharing what you do, I can't wait to start to look into different charities and things to support over the Christmas time!
Some really great suggestions.