Mission Christmas

Frequently asked questions

Drop-off Points

We have limited main drop-off partners that are featured on our website and have logistics in place with these partners. We would love you to become a Mission Christmas supporter and have lots of ways you can get involved including collecting gifts, fundraising, volunteering or making a cash donation. Please register your support here.

Yes absolutely! Please conduct any collections safely and within the current Government guidelines, and deliver the gifts directly to one of our drop-off points or Mission Christmas HQ at no later than the 18th December. Please contact us before visiting Mission HQ so we can make sure someone will be able to meet you.

We're so grateful for any support you can give - you could make a donation, host a Christmas jumper day, donate money from Christmas party budgets, register to fundraise or run a raffle or quiz in aid of Mission Christmas. Find out more at .

Donating Gifts

Please see our drop-off map at (available 13th November to 18th December). You can take your new and unwrapped gifts to any of these locations or to our Mission Christmas HQ, located at . Please note: Mission HQ will not be open until November and then only within certain hours - please check before visiting.

Please see our gift ideas and online gift list at . We support children from birth to 18, but always struggle most with gifts for babies and teenagers (especially boys).

Unfortunately we can't accept donations of any food. If you have food to donate, please give it to your local food bank.

Yes - these must be new and sealed and will only be given as an addition to a gift bundle.

We can't accept any second-hand or used gifts, regardless of their condition, for health and safety reasons. We also only accept new gifts to ensure that the children we support are getting something new for Christmas - especially since it may be the only gift they receive.

All gifts should be unwrapped. Gifts are left unwrapped for safety reasons, and to enable us and the recipients to work out which age group they are suitable for.

There's no need to do this - we always check the age outlined on the box.

Yes we do! We pass these on to other local charities and organisations who receive gifts so parents and carers can wrap their children's presents.

Batteries can be expensive for parents to buy, so if possible please do provide them. Please tape batteries to the side of the box so that children can play with their gift on Christmas Day.

We do, but please try to only donate clothing that is one-size-fits-all (e.g. hats and scarves) as we aren't given sizing information for the children we support. Please also remember that this is a gift appeal, so we would appreciate it if you chose an item of clothing suitable to give as a gift. Clothes must be new and carry all washing and safety tags. Unfortunately we can't accept hand-made clothing.

We don’t accept second-hand clothes as Mission Christmas gifts but you can take them to one of our Cash for Kids recycling banks which are available in many areas. Please visit cashforkids.org.uk/recycling and enter your post code on the map to find your nearest textile recycling bank. We will receive money for the items.

Yes - please see the map at (available 13th November - 18th December).

Yes - our Mission Christmas HQ is located at (opening hours ). Please note: Mission HQ will not be open until November - please contact us before visiting.

As early as possible, and no later than Monday 18th December.

Gifts are sorted by our team and volunteers. The gifts are signed for and collected by the organisation who have applied on behalf of the children they work with. The organisation then wrap and distribute the gifts to the children they are supporting.

We, along with the organisations we're supporting, need a couple of days to sort and deliver the gifts to children and their families. Closing donations a few days before Christmas allows everyone to get their gifts on time.

Donating cash

Please donate online here. You can also donate by texting to 70905 (£5 donation), 70910 (£10 donation) or 70920 (£20 donation)*.

Payments can also be made via bank transfer, using the following details;

Account Name:
Sort Code:
Account No.:

Cash donations will go to buy gifts for children who could wake up on Christmas Day without anything under the tree, and support our work throughout the year.Any cash donated will be used for grants to support local children living in adverse poverty - providing food, fuel, warm clothing and maybe a small gift on Christmas Day.

Applying for gifts

You can apply online here.

From birth to 18 years old.

All applications should be made by a representative from an official organisation, such as a school, teacher, social worker, doctor/GP etc. on behalf of all families and children. Unfortunately the general public can't apply directly.

Please also view our eligibility criteria here.

Due to the volume of applications we receive we're unable to accept applications from other toy appeals.

Due to the volume of applications we receive we can’t support applications for Christmas parties.

Our gift application system will send you an email once we receive your application, which will contain a unique tracking number. We'll always do our best to fulfil every application we receive, but cannot completely guarantee this as we rely on donations to the appeal.

You'll receive an email when your gifts are ready to collect. All gifts will be ready for collection no later than .

We receive applications for thousands of children and we rely on donations to fulfil each request, and applications for some age ranges are harder to fulfil than others, so you'll only hear from us when all of the gifts for every child in your application are ready for collection.

Please don't contact the team to ask about the status of your order as it slows our processing down.

No, but please be aware that large orders do take longer to be fulfilled. Please ensure that every child you are applying for is in need of the gifts and meets our eligibility criteria.

Yes, as long as this is before you've been informed that it's ready for collection. If not a new application will be required.

Please get in touch with us using the information on your tracking email.

The deadline for applications is based on the volume of gift donations we receive - we may have to close and reopen applictions during the campaign. Please check the application form available here to see our current status. We'll always do everything possible to ensure that no child goes without at Christmas so if the application form is closed please follow the provided instructions to contact us if you have a request.

We don't accept applications for cash - Mission Christmas is a gift appeal. However, due to COVID-19 and potential lockdown scenarios it may be necessary for us to switch the appeal to a voucher distribution system. If this occurs and you've applied for gifts we'll contact you to advise on the next steps.

Collecting gifts

Only if they've been registered on your application form in the 'Authorised Collectors' area, and identification must be provided.

No - our volunteers pick gifts in-line with your application age ranges. However if you have a particular need for specific gifts please outline this on your application in the additional information section. We'll do what we can to fulfil such requests but can't guarantee that this will be possible.

Making changes to the gifts you are collecting at this point will not be possible. Your order will already be fulfilled ready to collect.

We're located at - click here to view on Google Maps.

You MUST only attend Mission Christmas HQ on the date and time that you're advised once your application has been accepted and completed. Please DO NOT come to collect without receiving your specified collection date and time.

Collection times and dates will be specific to each organisation and will be communicated to you once your application has been processed. Our Mission Christmas HQ is open .

No, we're not able to deliver gifts. Unfortunately for safety, logistical and data protection reasons all gifts must be collected from the warehouse by a person named on the application form.

No, you'll receive an email to tell you when the gifts are ready. We process a large volume of applications so are unable to follow up by phone.

Please specify this on the application form, although we can't make guarantees as we rely on donations to fulfil application. The more flexible on dates you can be, the more opportunity we'll have to fulfil it.

Fundraising

Please click here and sign-up to support Mission Christmas to get a downloadable fundraising pack, containing posters and lots of other useful ideas and materials.

We want everyone to get involved in Mission Christmas! Cash can be donated online, we've got fundraising packs available to download and you can create an online fundraising page - visit for more information.

We would encourage that any cash raised is donated to us or used to purchase gifts from our online Gift list as we have deals in place to purchase gifts in bulk at reduced rates compared to retail pricing. Funds may also be used for specialist gifts, e.g. for children with additional needs. Please donate any cash raised to us rather than purchasing gifts yourselves, as we use the donations to provide grants to support local children living in adverse poverty.

You can donate online at .

You can also donate by texting to 70905 (£5 donation), 70910 (£10 donation) or 70920 (£20 donation)*.

Payments can also be made by bank transfer using the following details;

Account Name:
Sort Code:
Account No.:

Grant Applications

We aim to have paid all grants no later than TBC, but hope to have issued funds prior to this.

Sorry, we don't accept applications from individuals. We support children and families via grassroots groups and charities working in local communities across the West of Scotland.

COVID-19

We implemented some changes over the last few years because of the pandemic. We are continuing with hygiene and social distancing measures in our Mission Christmas HQ where gifts are sorted, to ensure that everyone can perform their role safely.

Due to the ongoing situation we're limiting the number of public-facing drop-off points but there are lots of ways for you to be involved and support the appeal including fundraising and collecting gifts so please visit for more information.

If the Government implements a full local or national lockdown (where all non-essential retail is closed and movement outside of the home is severely restricted) Mission Christmas HQ will have to close and we'll be unable to take in or distribute gifts. In this situation Mission Christmas will transition to an online and text donation only appeal. We'll use any funds raised to support disadvantaged children with vouchers. Any gifts already donated but not distributed will be stored safely until we're able to resume the appeal as normal. If that didn't happen in time for Christmas, they would be used for emergency cases in the New Year or stored for next years appeal.

Still got questions? Email the team at

Please remember that this is our busiest time of year so we might not be able to get back to you right away.