Christmas Complete 2024

“I would like to thank you all. I can't tell you how much weight has been lifted! My children are going to be so happy on Christmas day. After two friendly happy guys dropped of boxes to my door I opened to find a choice of gifts and treats. My son is into his sports and there's a whole range for him to choose from. My daughter will enjoy the books and spa products. As well as a few treats for myself to enjoy over the festive period. It really has taken away the sleepless nights of worry.”

On Christmas Day we celebrate the greatest gift ever, the birth of Jesus Christ.   We give gifts to others, symbolic of the presentation of the gifts by the wise men to the Christ Child.   We can’t give him material birthday presents so instead we give gifts to each other in celebration of the day.

Do you remember the joy and excitement of receiving gifts as a child?

Do you enjoy seeing the pleasure of your, or other people’s, children as they open their presents? 

Well now think about the anguish of those who are currently struggling financially, or in other ways, who don’t know how survive from week to week, yet alone find the money to buy presents for their children.

That is where SCRATCH (Southampton City and Region Action to Combat Hardship) and Christmas Complete come in!  Each year SCRATCH collects donations of presents and gives them out to carers who would otherwise be unable to treat their children.  Last Christmas they were able to provide parcels of presents to 2616 children and young people.  The level of support enabled SCRATCH to help all the families that were referred to them by their trusted referral agents.  

So how can you help?  By donating presents or giving financial support. 

As a church we are looking to collect donations of new games, puzzles, crafts, stationery, toys, soft toys, sweets and books, as well as toiletries for teenagers.  You can bring these to The Ark, the Church Office or Sunday services up to the 8th of December.

In addition, you might want to donate financially to buy items in shortage areas.  To do this visit https://cafdonate.cafonline.org/18451#!/DonationDetails .

The appreciation is shown by the message at the top, and by this

one also received by SCRATCH:

“I honestly can’t thank you enough for these gifts for my daughters. This time of year is always stressful, I’ve been panicking and feeling guilty about not being able to provide gifts for them that match that of their friends. These are perfect, whoever put the box together has really put thought into each gift and they’re honestly wonderful. I just wanted to let you know how appreciated these gifts are. I honestly can’t thank you enough for relieving the stress and making our Christmas this year extra special.”

So let’s look forward with expectancy to Christmas morning and the wonderful gift of the Christ Child we receive, knowing that many children in Southampton will also wake up to gifts thanks to the love of Jesus we have shown.