Where can you give Christmas gifts to those who need them? (Picture: Getty)
Across the UK, many of us will be looking forward to Christmas Day.
December 25 can promise time off work, a roast dinner complete with festive trimmings, sweets and treats to enjoy while watching a Christmas flick – and plenty of presents under the twinkling tree.
Christmas isn’t quite so magical for everyone, though – and surely this year in particular, donating toys and Christmas gifts to those who need them is a great way to ensure children don’t miss out on the fun.
Here are just a handful of 2022 Christmas toy appeals seeking present donations.
Where can you donate Christmas toys and presents in the UK?
Refuge
To donate gifts to a woman and her children fleeing abuse, visit Refuge’s Donate page.
You can spend as little as £3, and toy gifts for kids vary from woolly winter hats to colouring books and teddy bears – while for mothers, you can purchase lipstick, gloves, a journal or a jumper.
You can also donate £25 specifically to gift Christmas dinner to a mum and her family.
Every child should get to open a present this Christmas (Picture: Getty)
Salvation Army Christmas Present Appeal
All over the UK, you’ll be able to find Salvation Army drop-off points for their annual Christmas Present Appeal.
They’re after new, unwrapped toys and gifts for children, which you can leave with your local Salvation Army by finding it on this map.
An appeal in partnership with toy shop The Entertainer is also running, offering a donated toy for every toy you purchase at the shop. Act fast though, as this appeal ends on November 30.
Crisis
Homelessness charity Crisis has published Christmas donation wishlists in the run up to December 25.
Visit their website here to find out what types of gifts your nearest Crisis needs.
The Coventry and Warwickshire branch is after donations of toys, slime, books, board games, grooming and pampering sets, clothing and food gift cards, stuff for food hampers, and more, for example.
Each Crisis will likely have their own Amazon wish list as well, meaning you can donate specific gifts or items without needing to leave your home or visit a drop-off point.
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The BookTrust Christmas Appeal
If you would prefer to donate books, then consider supporting the BookTrust.
With a £10 donation, you’ll be funding a book parcel for a child this Christmas – either given out to vulnerable families at a food bank, or delivered to a child living in foster care.
The charity has selected six kid-friendly books, all hardbacks, to be gifted.
Lidl Bear’s Toy Bank
If you want to buy some new toys and simply drop them off somewhere, head to your nearest Lidl supermarket.
This year, they are running Lidl Bear’s Toy Bank, which is usually a big box near the checkouts. Simply buy toys in store and pop in the box, or bring in your donations from elsewhere.
Toys, arts and crafts, books, games and puzzles are all wanted. They’ll go to local children.
Lidl Bear is the star of the supermarket’s 2022 festive ad – and is now the face of the supermarket’s Toy Bank (Picture: Lidl)
Action For Children Secret Santa
Action For Children has a range of gifts you can give as a Secret Santa this year.
£15 pays for toys and books, £20 pays for a trip to the pantomime and £25 buys a Christmas present. These can be purchased as one-off donations, or as monthly ones.
KidsOut Giving Tree
If you want to buy a gift for a child living in refuge, purchase a toy via KidsOut’s Giving Tree shop.
You can buy action figures for £12, while craft kits, Disney dolls and LEGO Duplo sets cost £15, and baby dolls cost £20. For £10, you can buy a football or toys for a baby.
Of course, there are plenty more options in the shop, including more branded toys like Monopoly, PlayDoh and Hungry Hungry Hippos.
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Planet Radio’s Mission Christmas
Planet Radio, in partnership with shop B&M, is running a 2022 Mission Christmas Appeal.
You can drop off new and unwrapped gifts at various drop-off points around the country (visible on this map) including B&M stores. Type in your postcode to find your drop-off point, and the cut-off date for donations.
You can also buy gifts online for children who need them.
Morrisons Toy Donation Stations
In addition to pick-up packs of groceries you can buy in-store, to donate to a local food bank, supermarket Morrisons is launching Toy Donation Stations in its stores for Christmas.
Any donations will go to charities and causes in the local area.
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Find local Christmas toy appeals near you
There’ll be plenty more toy appeals across the UK, focusing on your specific area.
Search ‘Christmas toy appeal [your town/city here]’ in a search engine such as Google, to bring up all of the appeals running near you.
Alternatively, you can visit your nearest Salvation Army, Crisis or charity of choice for information on how to donate toys and Christmas gifts – or contact a local charity shop.
Check your local supermarket – as they may have a toy donation drop-off point, if not they may have an option for you to donate food to a local food bank, instead.
Finally, if you have a local community centre, drop by or give them a call/email to find out if they are holding any toy drives or know of any initiatives you can support this year.
For now, here are a few area-specific appeals to check out:
Angus Toy Appeal (in Scotland)Tameside Toy Appeal (in Greater Manchester)Sefton Mayor’s Christmas Toy Appeal (in Liverpool)Little Village Baby Bank (in London)The Toy Project (in London)Scratch (in Southampton)North Wales SuperKids Toy Box Appeal (in North Wales)Mr X Appeal (in South Wales)Belfast Council Pre-Loved Toy Appeal (in Northern Ireland).
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