3 ways to make this Christmas Season truly jolly!

Tis the season to be jolly and there is a jolliness, which may only be experienced through the act of bringing joy to others. That is why I am asking for your help in throwing a Christmas Party for the community centre I support in Gugulethu, Phakama. 

Year round they contribute to the community in KTC in numerous ways, from providing a crèche for the local babies, to a safe haven for abused children, to a feeding scheme, upliftment through skill’s development and much, much more.

Last year's Christmas Party, Phakama community kids, Hannah from Mammas Meeting Place and Me

Santa's Shoebox inspires this year's Christmas treats for the kids in the Phakama community, these will very possibly be the only Christmas gifts they receive so I would love them to be made with as much love as possible. This year we have 49 children, last year we had 60 planned, we had 10 extra gifts and were still short as word of the Christmas party spread through the neighbourhood, so if we could aim for 80 gifts that would be amazing!

I would really love to see our communities kids face's as happy as these little faces, 

please join me in making this a reality!

How it works: It's as easy as 1, 2, 3

1. Write to me at info@susanakennedy.com and let me know how many children you will be giving christmas gifts to and what area you are in, I will then send you a child's name, age, gender and a drop off location.

2. Find an empty shoebox, doctorate it and fill it with gifts. 

For decorating idea's check out https://www.pinterest.com/santashoebox/you-made-it/

3. Drop it off by the 2nd of December.

• An outfit of clothing
• A toy (eg. doll or car)
• Something to get creative with (crayon's/paint/pencil's/play dough/etc)
• Toothpaste
• Tooth brush
• Bar of soap
• Wash cloth

Obviously I need to make sure the children on my list get gifts first but if you can afford a few spare gifts, just a toy, not an entire box is necessary, it would be fantastic. If you want to do an entire spare shoe box then perhaps leave the tags on the clothing so that if needed the parents can exchange for the correct size.  

A few of the men and woman within the community with me and Hannah

There are 10 woman who run the community centre and care for the children along with 6 men, I would like to give them gifts too. 

For the woman I would like to create a Christmas handbags, for details read my blog 5 Christmas Handbag Idea's http://susanakennedy.blogspot.co.za/2015/11/5-christmas-handbag-ideas.html

and for the men I want to give them a gentleman's gift, for details read my blog 5 Christmas gentleman's gift Idea's  http://susanakennedy.blogspot.co.za/2015/11/gentlemans-gift-toiletry-bag-gift-idea.html

Thank You in advance for making my Christmas wish a reality by creating a 

afternoon of love, laughter and spoil's for a very deserving community.

The below was copied from Santa's Shoebox, looks like well thought out caution - so thought I would better share!

IMPORTANT notes about Shoebox contents:

FOOD: 
Do NOT include tinned food, cakes or other perishable food
Do NOT include anything containing nuts
Place chocolate in a ziplock bag to prevent it from possibly melting onto the other contents of the Santa Shoebox

MEDICINE: 
Do NOT include medicines or vitamins of any kind

WAR RELATED ITEMS: 
Do NOT include toy guns or knives

FRAGILE ITEMS:
Do NOT include glass containers or mirrors

LIQUIDS: 
All liquids, like cosmetics or blow bubbles, must be put into a ziplock plastic bag, so that the contents cannot leak out and spoil the Santa Shoebox.

DANGEROUS ITEMS: 
Do NOT include any dangerous items such as sharp objects

ELECTRONICS: 
Please include batteries with battery-operated toys (please note – these children cannot afford to replace the batteries once they are flat) or choose a non-battery-operated alternative (preferred).

LASTLY: 
Do NOT include anything of a political, religious or racial nature

Remember to assess whether the contents of your shoebox are appropriate to the age of the recipient child. For example, don’t give marbles to a 2-year old but give them to a child over the age of 6. Another example would be to give a razor to a teenager but not to a younger child.