It’ll be lonely this Christmas

In three weeks’ time, Christmas will be behind us. The turkey will be gone, the presents will be dotted round the house in perfect piles for tripping over and every relative in the land will have been visited – probably twice. And hopefully we will all have remembered to celebrate the birth of Jesus at some point, too!

One of the saddest things about Christmas, though, is that many people don’t enjoy the perfect festive period the way some do. Many elderly people are completely alone at Christmas having lost loved ones, and a large number are unable to afford all the fancy trimmings. In fact, many struggle to cover basic costs such as heating.

Then there are homeless people, some of whom have to fight to stay alive in blisteringly cold conditions. For whatever reasons, they’ve fallen on hard times and now they are vulnerable to cold, loneliness and violence. Many are struggling with substance abuse.

And having done some work with Bristol International Student Centre (BISC) over the last few months, I’m also aware that a large number of internationals will find themselves alone and away from home come December 25. Imagine being thousands of miles away from your family and friends in a land that is cold and where the food is more than a little strange.

Finally, there are the people whose relationships have suddenly come to an end. Did you know there is usually a flurry of marriage/relationship breakups just before and after Christmas? Maybe it’s the stress of all the preparation, or the fact that couples actually have to spend time together that brings it on… Whichever way you look at it, this can make for an extremely sad and lonely time for the couple involved and for their children, if they have them.

So as you go about your Christmas shopping or plan what to wear to your office party, spare a thought for the people around you that might not be looking forward to Christmas. Is there anything you can do to help?

Maybe you could buy an extra gift for someone who doesn’t have any family around them at this time; a warm blanket for an elderly neighbour, for example. Or perhaps you could make an effort to include that person at work who is having a tough time at home. 

I’m not saying you have to invite every homeless person you meet over for Christmas dinner (although it might be that you could invite someone to share in your family feast), but small gestures can have a massive impact people who are hurting.

Many churches and charities host special services, meals and festive events for those that are alone or in need at Christmas time. Make an effort to find out what’s on offer and get involved. For example, my church has a Christmas hamper project that provides low-income families, single parents and those in sheltered accommodation with a basic meal and some treats on Christmas Day.

This is a great opportunity to share God’s love with people in a practical way. If you really can’t afford to give (and I question whether that is true if you really think about it), give of your time. Offer to help pack up the hampers or to drive them to where they need to go.

Don’t just turn up the Christmas tunes and zone everything else out. We remember at Christmas that God gave everything He had for us – His own Son – so let’s be prepared to give generously to others at this special time of year. 

Read more from Joy in the upcoming issue of Sorted magazine - out soon! There's still time to buy a gift subscription for that special man in your life...

Why the homeless may soon be looking trendier than you

If you’ve ever been to a market or travelled to a tourist destination, you’ve probably come across counterfeit designer goods of some kind. Buying a pair of knock-off Nike trainers, a Gucci watch or a Ralph Lauren shirt at a heavily discounted price is understandably tempting for many.

But there are two major drawbacks associated with fake goods:

Quality: I bought a “designer” watch in Ibiza and it had stopped working by the time I got home. Lesson learnt!

Social/economic impact: it puts people out of jobs, puts consumers at risk and often empowers crime syndicates connected with child labour, human trafficking, money laundering and even terrorism, according to the experts.

If in doubt, avoid buying pirated gear! (Unless of course it’s the Jack Sparrow kind.)

But there is at least one positive outcome emerging from the counterfeiting crisis. A UK charity is giving the fakes a new future; as much-needed clothing for the homeless. Although they are usually handed to Customs or Trading Standards to be incinerated, His Church has been given the go-ahead to redistribute these clothes to those who really need it.

Buckinghamshire Trading Standards was the first authority to get involved in the scheme, followed: by Trading Standards in Manchester, Liverpool and London; West Midlands Police, the Metropolitan Police and the City of London Police; and UK Customs. And now the charity is getting calls from as far away as America to deal with offending items of fake fashion.

Even the sewing machines His Church uses to patch over counterfeit labels were seized by UK Customs officials from the criminal gangs creating the counterfeit clothing and passed on. It’s a win-win situation: the homeless benefit and officials don’t have to pay to store or destroy the garments.

Charity co-ordinator Richard Humphrey told the BBC: "It's all come round in a virtuous circle," says Richard. "It's a genuinely inspired idea which we've put into practice by faith and it's just borne fruit."

Rebranding takes place at the charity’s Lincolnshire warehouse, where around 30 volunteers give up their time to make the clothes legally wearable. According to Richard, the quality of most of the items he receives is excellent.

These high-quality items are then sent to around 250 homeless centres and women's shelters across the country. And even garments that are too heavily branded to patch over can be salvaged; the charity has permission to send them overseas, providing the destination is outside the EU.

"So many of us go through life talking about projects we're going to do and we talk and talk about them but somehow we just never quite get round to doing them,” Richard told the BBC.  

"So I guess we decided to come at it from the opposite end; don't bother talking, just do it."

An apt choice of words, given the topic in question.