CURLY AND CANDID

Earlier this month I was invited to visit the UNICEF supply division in Copenhagen to see what goes on there, and why. Sadly I wasn’t able to make it but I am able to fill you in on what is going on over there.

Christmas in many ways has become hideously commercial; it’s all about the shiny gadgets and designer names. When you take a step back and think about those who will be fighting for their lives on Christmas Day due to malnutrition or the women who will die in childbirth due to having no medical supplies to help with birth, it put a different slant on things.

This year, instead of buying another box of chocolates and smellies, why not buy a friend an inspired gift from UNICEF. Inspired gifts are life-saving supplies and tools sent to areas in need. The Copenhagen centre is the hub from which essential supplies are sent around the world to those in need.

Forget the ribbons and wrapping, this year why not send something different in lieu of a gift to someone else, or just one small Inspired Gift from your family, to those in need.

You don’t have to break the bank either….

£9.50 will provide 100 polio vaccinations for children (less than the average phone top up).
£15 will provide 5 blankets for babies (or a box of chocolates and a nice bottle of wine).
£8 (or two packs of chicken breasts) will buy an emergency water kit for a family.

chain — Click to enlarge and read how Inspired Gifts really work

With the help of consumers around the world UNICEF bought $1.955 BILLION worth of supplies in 2010 and delivered them to 190 countries by boat, plane, truck, van, donkey, bicycle and on foot. What a huge achievement, thanks largely to people like yourself who give a little and help a lot.

unicef1 — Buy someone an alternative *inspired* gift this year or request one yourself instead of a wrapped gift.

UNICEF’s full range of Cards, Gifts and Inspired Gifts* are available exclusively online here or by calling 0844 888 5505.

If you really do want to help but prefer to have something wrapped up to give, then have a look at the Unicef shop which packed with beautiful ethically made gifts. It all helps.

Give a little if you can this Christmas, or ask for one of your presents to be an inspired gift this year and you can quite literally save lives.

* Each UNICEF Inspired Gift purchase comes complete with an exclusive Gift Card, which can be personalised and delivered to your choice of UK postal address.

I am a bit of a train geek. I am blaming this on the fact that I have two boys and the eldest has always loved trains. On Saturday we headed over to the National Railway Museum at York for the launch of Santa’a Christmas Steam Adventure, and we loved every minute!

The museum itself we have visited many times and Kieran has also been with school. It is free to enter and there is so much to see and do! More details on the NRM can be found here.

On arrival to the special festive event we were cheerfully greeted and shown into the festive area (for ticket holders only) where we could see a whole array of festive delights!

Our tickets were for 12.45pm and at 12.40pm we were ushered onto the Santa Express. Kieran was agog! A train AND Santa? Surely it doesn’t get any better than this? The children were all invited to take one of the cushions and warm blankets that were dotted around and get snuggled up and comfy. The storytelling began and the storyteller had a fantastic knack of capturing the children’s imagination and keeping them involved as the story progressed.

I won’t tell you much more about this because I really don’t want to spoil the surprise, but Santa did arrive and everyone was given an age appropriate gift by the wide-eyed man in red! The tickets for this event are £7.50 for a child and £5 for an adult (which includes a mince pie and hot drink in the cafe) and it is worth every penny. The gift that Kieran received from Santa was worth more than the ticket price alone, no “tat” like you sometimes see at various grottos and the like.

Santa’s Christmas Steam Adventure runs literally right up until Christmas, see below for details and visit here to book.

Dates and times

November 19, 20
November 26, 27

December 3, 4
December 10, 11
December 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23

Times are 10:30, 11:15, 12:00, 12:45, 13:45, 14:30, 15:15, 16:00.

This was a fantastic way to spend the day and Kieran is still talking about it. This is the first time Santa has visited the NRM for a long time and seeing as he has already been a bit hit, I hope we can see him next year too!

nrm 001 — The staff were brilliant! Nothing was too much trouble and there were smiles a-plenty. This is Rhona, one of the staff helping out who really did make you believe it was Christmas with her genuine cheerfulness!

nrm 023 — We have always loved the education side to the NRM. A festive occasion it may have been but there is still a lot to see and do outside of the event making it a full visit!

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Don’t forget that you can be kept up to date with the NRM’s news and offers on Facebook and Twitter!

*We were offered free tickets to this event in exchange for a write up of the first day of the event. This review is based purely on our experiences as a family and the NRM have had no influence over this. Neither has Santa.