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Christmas

From present ideas to party food, find all your Christmas inspiration here.

Spare a thought this Christmas

32 replies

BankerMommy2010 · 15/10/2013 16:16

I did this one year at school and loved choosing gifts for a less fortunate child...since having my son, whom I love to buy gifts for it makes me feel slightly less indulgent by giving something back to those that probably won't get anything... so here's the link

www.operationchristmaschild.org.uk

OP posts:
FunnyRunner · 15/10/2013 23:52

Bloody hell expat didn't know that at all! Really annoys me that they sneak into schools with a hidden agenda.

exexpat · 15/10/2013 23:58

Does that explain why people get so het up about them on here?

If you are a teacher and your school (or any other schools you know) are still supporting them, you might want to download the new information leaflet for schools, which makes things a little clearer. It is here, though as I said, you do have to register to download it.

I have a PDF if anyone wants to read it without registering - just DM me an email address and I'll send it to you.

Harrin · 17/10/2013 16:31

I know it's not a massive deal compared to the religious aspect but I was also a bit less inclined to do them when I found out the boxes got split/redistributed to make the contents more equal for each child. I know in theory this is the right thing to do but I used to like putting a box together that would go to one child iyswim?

raisah · 17/10/2013 18:50

Why not donate a gift to the salvation army as they then distribute them through refuges & desperate families referred to them by various agencies. They launch this appeal every november, heres link from last year:

www.salvationarmy.org.uk/uki/christmas-present-appeal

jamtoast12 · 18/10/2013 16:09

Actually they do mention it all to schools. At least now they do. Today my dds brought home their leaflets for operation child and it states very clearly on the form:

"We always give shoeboxes based on need, regardless of their religious beliefs. Its an unconditional gift of love.

Where appropriate, with each shoebox, our church partners may offer a little booklet of bible stories. They may also invite children receiving shoeboxes to join in a discipleship course called 'The Greatest Journey'. This is a 'no strings attached' programme and participation is with consent of their parent or guardian"

exexpat · 18/10/2013 17:59

Good that they mention it, jamtoast, but that does rather play down the extent of the evangelism.

If you look at their website ([[http://www.samaritanspurse.org/operation-christmas-child/about-the-greatest-journey/ link) it makes it very clear that 'reaching children for Jesus' (and through them, converting their families) is the primary purpose of Operation Christmas Child, rather than 'bringing joy to children' which is the main focus of their presentations to schools in the UK.

Some extracts: "The Greatest Journey is the exciting follow-up discipleship program used by Operation Christmas Child to help children become faithful followers of Jesus Christ. The journey to faith begins when children are offered Gospel storybooks during Operation Christmas Child gift distributions."

"Millions of boys and girls have indicated that they have committed their lives to Jesus Christ after receiving shoe box gifts and participating in our follow-up program. By sharing their faith one-on-one, these children in turn lead friends and relatives to Jesus Christ. Miracles multiply as more and more families come to Christ and churches are planted in communities where none previously existed."

And this is the 'booklet of bible stories' - The Greatest Gift. Not exactly a neutral retelling of bible stories (and it doesn't even mention Christmas or the nativity). It ends up asking children to become followers of Jesus and write a list of names of their friends/family they can tell about it.

However, the head of communications at Samaritan's Purse has messaged me to say "Next year expect a major revamp and unparalleled transparency" so I hope that will make everything rather clearer (and it shows they do admit there is a problem with the way they have been presenting OCC in schools).

exexpat · 18/10/2013 18:00

Sorry, messed up links there.

This is the website and

this is the Greatest Gift.

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