Christmas is a truly ‘magical’ time for children but as my two have got older I have been keen to remind them that the festive period it as much a time for giving as it is receiving, encouraging them to think of others that maybe not as fortunate.
After various discussions with friends one has come up with a lovely idea. In order to help someone else have a ‘magical’ Christmas they started what she hope will become a family tradition – The ‘reverse advent calendar’. This maybe doing something to help, this could be baking a cake for someone, giving to a charity shop, buying from a charity shop, saying THANK YOU, write a positive review….the list goes on.
There are many ways you can get the children involved in helping others this Christmas, we have included a few ideas below.
Alongside opening traditional Advent calendars, put aside a box and on each day of Advent pop an item in the box. You can do it for various causes and charities including Ryedale Foodbank, The Salvation Army or you might want to use it as an opportunity to sort through toys before Santa arrives and donate to your local Children’s Centre.
The kids can decorate the box to make it “Christmassy’, they may also like to make Christmas Cards and put them in with the donations.
Ideas of what to put in your parcel could include: (ring pull cans if possible)
Non-food items are also welcome:
The food donation points are Hope Central, Castlegate, Malton (10am – 4pm) and Food Warehouse, Howe Road, Norton (10am – 12pm Mon / Thurs).
There are 3 food banks in Ryedale:
Pickering Methodist Church, Potter Hill, Pickering, YO18 8AA open Thursday 4pm – 6pm.
Hope Central, 62-64 Castlegate, Malton, YO17 7DZ open Wednesday 10am – 12pm and Friday 1.30am – 3.30am. 01653 697796
7a Howe Road, Norton, YO17 9BH open Tuesday 2pm – 4pm. 01653 228118
On the website you can find details of what they are really short of. At the time of writing, they needed
The Salvation Army in Norton work particularly hard at Christmas in line with their motto ‘heart to God and hand to man’.
Christmas time is, for most people, so beautiful. But it can also be such a desperate time too as financial stress increases, expectations can’t be met, families are broken, bereavement’s hurt that much more. It’s not always a happy time.
In Norton, they do several ‘things’ to help…
– Donate a toy! Please leave them at the Salvation Army, Beecham’s pharmacy in Norton or there is a collection box in Morrisons. New please (due to safety and infection control regulations). We have a Christmas tree in the entrance of the church with gender and ages of children we are providing gifts for. Please feel free to contact Davina Beecham and she will send you a gift label. However, we would be delighted to accept any gender or age. Last year, they were especially short of teenager items.
– By giving up time to help collect when the band is carolling. They are a very small corps, but with a huge amount of work to do. December is very busy, every day they will be carolling in shopping areas, residential homes, schools… they get such strength, encouragement (and relief!) from people helping. If you can give even an hour or two, again, please contact Davina Beecham and we can give you a list of dates and times we need to fill!
– For up to date carol service lists please look at the Facebook groups
Norton Salvation Army Facebook
Malton Salvation Army Facebook
There is also the Minster FM Toy Appeal,
If you can afford just one extra toy this year, please donate it to Minster FM’s Toy Appeal. Please ensure the toy is brand new and unwrapped so we can be certain it goes to the right child.
You can drop off your toy to us at various locations throughout the area.
Please do this by Sunday 10th of December
Calverts Carpets
Calverts Carpets
1 Showfield Lane Ind. Est.
Malton YO17 6BT
Robinsons Equestrian/ Bata
Noton Road
Malton
North Yorkshire YO17 9RU
George Hotel
Market Place
Easingwold
York YO61 3AD
Various shops at Monks Cross, the Management Suite at the Vanguard Centre and the Designer Outlet.
Website for more details.
Viking FM Mission Christmas
Our new friend Reliant the Robin is out and about pointing Santa to all of the children at risk of waking up to nothing on Christmas morning – but we need your help!
Please donate just one gift if you can, and he’ll make sure the Big Guy delivers it to a child near you. All gifts should be new and unwrapped, and you can drop them off at dozens of locations across our area. Closest to Ryedale is Pocklington, Stamford Bridge and Driffield.
The above are just a few ideas of acts of kindness you can do as a family to give back to others over the festive period. Why don’t you join our Ryedale Mumbler Chat Group and share your ideas with others.
