Help to make Christmas Eve a ‘magical’ time for vulnerable children in Wigan

Daffodils Dreams is launching a new appeal to provide Christmas Eve boxes for youngsters in the borough.

They will contain special treats which the children would not otherwise receive to help them get into the festive spirit.

Maureen Holcroft, from Daffodils Dreams, said: “The pandemic has been a challenging time with job losses and poverty on the rise. Daffodils Dreams wanted to help where we could and decided to launch our Christmas Eve box appeal.

“As a child, for me and my five siblings, Christmas was magical. Christmas started for us on Christmas Eve, we would settle down in the warm, new nightdress, party food, nice film and we would be filled with excitement for what Santa would bring us.

“Unfortunately, this is not the case for a lot of children and it saddens me to think that, so I decided to do something to help.”

Maureen spoke to Charlene Frodsham, community champion at Asda in Newtown, about Christmas Eve boxes last year and she agreed to help.

The supermarket will have a collection point from Saturday November 14 where people can donate items to be put in the boxes.

The gifts should be new and unwrapped, and could include educational games and toys, books, pyjamas, stationery, family-friendly DVDs and puzzles.

They will be put into Christmas Eve boxes for children whose families are struggling financially.

Charlene said: “We are calling on kind-hearted people in the local community to help spread a little seasonal cheer this Christmas by donating gifts to our Christmas gift appeal.

“It’s a privilege to be able to bring some Christmas joy to the people in our community who deserve it most at this special time of the year.”

Ten-year-old Lilly-Anne Johnson, a pupil at Marus Bridge Primary School who has designed flyers for the appeal, said: “We all need to help each other and make Christmas in Wigan extra special this year and make sure every family can celebrate. Please, please donate no matter how small it is. Let’s make the Wigan community proud!”

A drop-off point for the gifts will also be provided by Wigan Steam.

Any other businesses or organisations able to offer a drop-off point are asked to contact Maureen by emailing her at [email protected] or through social media.

A crowdfunding appeal will be set up shortly to run alongside the Christmas Eve box appeal, so any items that are not donated can be bought.

There are also plans for an Amazon wish list to provide another way to help.

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