Giving this Christmas

Thu, 27 Aug 09

We are bombarded with so much commercialism it's easy to forget what all the fuss is about.

Gift giving originally took place in early Rome as a part of the New Year celebrations exchanging various luxuries as gifts as tokens of their good wishes for a happy year.

The tradition we are familiar with today is owed to Victorian England. They introduced the idea of family as part of the celebrations at Christmas time, bringing a new meaning and warmth to the day after a long time of experiencing a decline. The concept of kindness and being charitable became the norm, so giving gifts was a natural expression of this generosity.

Today, there is nothing like the warm and fuzzy feeling of the Christmas spirit. We tend to all act like a big kid at Christmas and embrace the silly season! The build up to the big day can be so exciting, especially when you get a big pressie under the tree. Christmas time can just make you feel over the moon!

At the other end of the spectrum, this kind of Christmas can only be dreamed about. Imagine if everything you had was taken away from you, only to find yourself without a real home, little food, let alone having a gift for your children.

So when you're out doing your Christmas shopping this year, why not include someone else in your plans, someone fortunate than others and help to make them also feel over the moon! Make a difference this Christmas.

There are many charities out there set up to especially to make someone's world a better place this Christmas. Shirt Studio is a strong supporter of several charities and one in particular this Christmas is Over the Moon.

The intention is to give a family or individual in need a small gift that will have an enormous impact on their life - one that will leave them with an experience of feeling "Over the Moon". Over the Moon wants to give a gift of hope to the families at the Parmanie, a local women's domestic violence refuge.

They are collecting food and gifts for women and particularly the 49 children living there aged 10 months to 16. They have already reached the goal of providing the mothers with gifts, but there are still many of the kids without.

So how can you help?

All you need to do is donate a small gift for a child - value to be no more than $25. The gift can be brand new or you can donate items of food such as biscuits, canned food, crackers, etc. Whatever you choose to donate is perfect.

How to donate?

Shirt Studio will facilitate the charity donations, so you can contact us by emailing fiona@shirtstudio.com.au to find out what gifts are still required.

You can send the gift or food to the Shirt Studio office at 92 Juliette Street, Greenslopes. Alternatively we will be doing two pick ups closer to Christmas. All gifts need to be received by Friday 13 December.

I want to thank you all for taking the time to read this article. It's so easy to make a difference in someone's life. It takes one small step from each person to make someone else feel over the moon this Christmas.