Help us make it a very merry Christmas
Play your part in this year’s toy appeal
There is still time to get organised for our annual Christmas Toy Appeal.
We have, as usual, teamed up with the Salvation Army, in Mill Street, to ensure that young people from poor families get the Christmas they deserve by asking readers to donate what they can.
The church will be open for receiving donations from readers from Monday, December 10.
And now is the perfect time for people to do a little bit of shopping to help the appeal.
As revealed in the Express, Major Cora Joy Tucker, of the Salvation Army’s Paisley Citadel, expects demand to be even higher from needy families than before because of the impact of the introduction of Universal Credit.
She said: “We’re getting more people coming who are suffering under the delayed time that they have to wait on their payments.
“So, if people are depending on surviving with that, I think they are finding it harder.
“We are expecting a bit more of demand this year.”
The toy appeal is for gifts for children and young people up to the age of 16.
It is essential that all items are new and unused.
Major Tucker added:“We want people to get involved in getting the presents beforehand, but the hall will be open to receive donations at the beginning of December and then we’ll collate them all and send them out before Christmas.”
She reminded people that it is not just toys but gifts for older children that are being asked for.
“It’s the 13 to 16-year-olds,” she said.
“It’s easy enough to buy toys for the little ones but it’s not so easy when they get maybe over 10.
“And certainly when they’re teenagers it’s much more difficult.”
The donations will be received at the Salvation Army citadel, in Mill Street from Monday, December 10 to Thursday, December 13, between 10am and 4pm. Please do not hand in donations to the Paisley Daily Express office at the YMCA.
We ask that all toys are new and suitable for boys and girls ranging from zero to 16 .
Please leave the gifts unwrapped as it makes it easier for us to allocate them.
We receive lots of toys for younger children, but we ask that you might also consider a gift for an older young person.
Here are some suggestions for gifts:
Zero to one years: soft toys, cot mobiles, baby clothes, bath toys.
One to three years: dolls, teddy bears, bath toys, puzzles, cloth books.
Three to five years: dolls and action figures, cars, lorries, colouring sets, crayons, books, puzzles.
Five to nine years: educational games, toys, colouring sets, pencils, crayons, books, puzzles.
Nine to 12 years: games/toys, books, hair accessories, make-up/ nail art, gloves, scarves
Thirteen to 16 years: books, make- up and toiletries ( nonallergenic, if possible), gloves, scarves, hats, hair accessories, jewellery, perfume, aftershave, keyrings, electronic games.
Please check if your gift needs batteries, as it would be very sad for children not to be able to use their present on Christmas morning.