September
heralds the end of summer, apple harvest, shorter evenings, golden leaves and
Christmas. Yes, Christmas! The first leaves have only just started to fall and
already the shops are putting out displays of Christmas biscuits. It just seems
so wrong when it’s still 24°C (75°F) outside.
Although
I’m not ready to pack away my sandals and sunglasses quite yet, there are 2
presents I need to prepare long before December, the first for my friends in
Mexico (snail-mail takes FOREVER to get there) and the second for an unknown
child via Samaritan’s Purse “Christmas Child” action. With only 2 months before
the deadline on 15th November when these shoebox presents have to be
at your local collection point, it’s definitely time to get started.
The last
couple of years I’ve started buying things throughout the year, partially to
spread the cost but mainly to snap up bargains and make my money go further. Spending
around about 10€ a month I can keep a look out in the sales etc, for example, last
month I picked up 7 cute T-shirts for just 12€! I’ve now got a whole Curver©
box full of cloths, toys and school supplies ready to be sorted and packed. I’m
going to make up 2 shoe boxes this year and all the “left-overs” from my
collecting goes to the main collection point where the volunteers make up
Christmas Boxes from all the different donations that come in, from companies
and private people as well as checking all the boxes that come in already
packed.
So I’d
like to encourage you to make your own shoe-box present, or if you can’t afford to pack a whole box for a child,
then think about adding just 1 extra thing to your basket each time you shop, some soap, toothpaste
or a colouring book, over the next 8 weeks and help bring a smile to a child’s
face this Christmas.
