Helping Father Frost, our new style Christmas Stocking project for 2020

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Help Father Frost! The Christmas Stocking Project 2020

Stocking are made very early as due to transporting them over to Belarus goes, they leave when the summer visitors go back and go into safe storage! They will be given to the children around the time of the orthodox Christmas early January 2021.

Please read carefully as things are different.

  • We have been given a list of children, names and ages as at the time they will receive their stocking. Initially we have 31.
  • If you would like to take part, message or email us and we will allocate a child to you. How lovely is this??!! You then make a stocking just for them!
  • Let’s say no more than 2 children per person, but if you are prepared to make for more, let us know and we can always come back to you. No extras needed this year, just personalised stockings for these children. If we have more donors than children we will take your names in case we get more.

So last posting is Friday 23rd May 2020.

Elizabeth Parker (Mid Suffolk Chernobyl Children’s Life line link)and her team personally take filled stockings to Belarus, to the homes/schools of very disadvantaged children. Their aim is to give the children a real Christmas present and those they give to have most likely never received a Christmas present before.  It is very important to note this is absolutely not one of those shoe box appeals, so these stockings do not include functional toothpaste/brush type items, and there are no strings attached. It is just a wonderful thing to be able to do for some of the most disavanted and sick children.

So message/email for a child’s details, then once you have these please read on! Should anything change and you can’t make the stocking PLEASE PLEASE let us know so that we can sort things out. This is so important, we don’t want any child to be left out.

Even if you took part last year, please do read the instructions, they are absolutely vital to making this work. We are grateful to you, this is a wonderful project. Thank you.

We are looking for home made fabric only please stockings, OR shop bought stockings, we found some  on Ebay and Amazon but PLEASE as close to the size below as possible.  Then fit it with age appropriate treasure and get it as close to the weight as possible!

Here’s how to help…

  1. Whether it is home made or shop bought, stockings need to be as close to 18cm by 40cm  (approx 7” x 16) which seems to be average standard size of shop bought ones.
  2. The stockings can contain anything that would be considered a Christmas present but for this project, no utility items such as toothbrushes and toothpaste
  3. A list of suggested items is below but these are by no means the only items to be included, feel free to add anything you want!
  4. The gifts inside the stockings must not be wrapped in Christmas paper as this makes it easier if they are stopped at customs.
  5. VERY IMPORTANT – Completed stockings must weigh no more than 650 grams please and need to be able to lie as flat as possible for travelling purposes.
  6. Reiterating the 650g weight limit!
  7. Please send any filled stockings to us wrapped in a carrier bag with a list of the contents jotted down on a bit of paper and the weight in grammes, PLUS THE CHILD”S NAME AND NUMBER

What to put in to a stocking…The items listed are only some suggestions, please feel free to add your own items

  1. Liquids may not be sent neither should toy guns, sharps, knives or other weapons etc be sent as some parents might object to these.
  2. No sweets (as the stockings will be in storage in Minsk for a good while, they go over in June, and they can’t guarantee they mightn’t get hot)
  3. A small soft toy
  4. Small ornaments (all children love dogs and cats)
  5. A “Barbie” or Action Man type Doll
  6. temporary tattoos
  7. lip balm
  8. flavoured chapsticks
  9. Magic Gloves
  10. Hair slides, bobble, elastics etc for girls, colourful, sparkly items are really liked.
  11. Girls love all things pink and “blingy” !
  12. Wrist bands for boys
  13. Fridge Magnets are a big favourite
  14. Small logic puzzles, i.e. the ones we use to get where you had to roll a few small balls around and get
    them in the right place.
  15. Spinner toys
  16. Bracelets and necklaces for girls
  17. Balsa wood models
  18. Polystyrene plane kits
  19. Small cars or other models
  20. Small windup toys
  21. Marbles – quite heavy but a few would be ok and the children really love them
  22. Stickers – all the children seem to collect these
  23. Yo yo
  24. Harmonica
  25. Funny socks and slipper socks are liked very much, particularly if they are “Character “ones.
  26. Warm tights for girls – they like bright colors
  27. Small notebook – pretty ones for girls
  28. Pens, pencils – biros should be blue not black please, this is for school use, highlighters
  29. colouring pencils
  30. Small coin purses
  31. Pretty notebooks
  32. Pencil case
  33. Any toys with LED lights – particularly the stretchy/squishy ones
  34. Folding shopping bags (older girls)
  35. Keyrings
  36. Slipper socks

We will have quite a bit of admin this end, so please send any filled stockings to us wrapped in a carrier bag with a list of the contents jotted down on a bit of paper and the weight in grammes. Do make sure you include your child’s name and number which will all help make sure the right stocking goes to the right child! All hail the folk who get these out in Belarus! 

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