How to make a difference to children who don't have much at Christmas

[Malleus123]

I would like to help children and families who may not have much this Christmas, especially with the cost of living as it is. I will be donating to local foodbanks, but any ideas about other things I could do would be welcome

I’m a foster carer and we organise a party for our children each Christmas. We get lots of donations suitable for younger children- especially girly things, but very few things suitable for the older kids- so consider buying some teen friendly items if you can - fluffy socks, cheap headphones, stationery, reusable coffee cups and toiletries are very popular

Yes, I've helped out with our local Salvation Army collection in the past and they get tons of gifts for younger children and very little for teens, especially teen boys. Toiletries, branded socks eg Nike, hats ditto, not headphones for these recipients as lots don't have a phone.

It is better to campaign to not have this day, then no one feels left out. Schools should be poverty proofing their plans, a day making Christmas decs is just as much fun.

Some charities have specific amazon wish lists. Baby basics for example. DH and I always buy off there was they list what they need

Despite what people thing about the evils of organised religion on other threads its likely that your good old local church will be doing something on these lines - they’d love to hear from you!

Always thought the reverse advent calendar was daft timing.
We do an item a day in a bag for the food bank all through November instead. Drop it off on the 1st then give the kids their advent calendars.

Last year our local Dunelm also did the secret santa style gifting for families in need. Check out Facebook pages for your local area in November for any requests.

Lovely thread with some great insights
❤️
I would like to contribute to something again this year, have donated some stuff the past couple of years to various collections. I tend to collect things when I see them and have a decent stash by November
I popped into wilko a couple of weeks ago and saw some craft bits reduced, so picked those up to start off ❤️

There’s a childrens toy appeal in Hackney that goes up to age 18. You can buy in local shops for a discount or on Amazon. I don’t live locally but still support it as it’s easy to support and helps some very deprived children.

I have done this last few years as friend live there and gave me a link

i also support local children by buying a present age /sex related

in our local town Fb group there are posts saying if uou want to donate something then an Amazon list - so I do something from that a well. For a toddler and teenager

Last couple of years my DC and I made up small stockings and donated them to our local children's centre. Last year, we looked in to a campaign Tom Davies was discussing on his podcast. They were raising money for presents for children in hospital or hospices at Christmas, covering the south-east. We will hopefully do this again if we can.

Encourage your local school to have a Christmas jumper library. They collect loads over the year and then everyone (regardless of family income) gets one as a lucky dip to wear on the day. Probably too late for this year though.

Or encourage your school to knob the whole christmas jumper thing off!

There’s some sense in it, if you can buy standard not Christmassy items, and hang onto the box until the new year. Foodbanks get a lot donated for Christmas. But it’s January when the Christmas bills start rolling in, and donations can drop massively just as the need goes up. So if you can keep an eye on the sorts of things your foodbank is always asking for, and add one of those a day to a box, it’ll be hugely welcomed once the Christmas madness is over.

East Londoners can drop presents into the ELBA toy appeal. Last year it was in Canary Wharf, Bishopsgate the year before. I dropped off new toys and books. I got the DCs to choose a new present, and then we also give any duplicates they have been given throughout the year (5 kites, anyone?!).

Agree with getting rid of the Christmas jumper day at school, they're a ridiculous thing anyway. Would love to see the NUT campaign against them along with stopping costumes for World Book Day

Thanks for all these suggestions.

That is so awful. I just can't understand why they would keep doing it?

Some lovely ideas on here. I like the idea of donating to children in a woman's refuge where you can buy something they definitely want.

What a lovely thing to do.
I always think pyjamas and socks (cosy things) are nice items to give to kids at Christmas. You could make up gift bags or boxes with things like pj's, socks, a book, a toy, chocolate, colouring book/pens, cuddly toys, toiletries.
I'm sure whatever you choose will put a smile on their faces 😊