A PROJECT to donate gifts to people who are lonely this Christmas has been set up by a Penarth woman.

Ceri-Lou Newman has set up the Spirit of Christmas project to that spreads some joy to people who may not have others in their life to exchange gifts with and so who may not be looking forward to Christmas.

She is appealing to the people of the Vale to make a donation of a gift that can be distributed to those who perhaps don’t have any family and who would be given some festive cheer by receiving something for Christmas.

Ms Newman said: “For the past 15 years or so I have been part of an amazing team of volunteers who organise and run the Christmas Day Lunch at Trinity Methodist Church which provides a traditional lunch with much needed fellowship for those people who would otherwise spend the day alone.

“As a result, and with my job in the funeral industry, I have a long-standing concern for those, particularly the elderly and bereaved, for whom Christmas is not the magic day that many people come to expect.

“Receiving an unexpected gift will really boost someone’s morale not just in being given a Christmas present but also in knowing that they are being thought of at this time of year by others.”

Some of the suggested items include hand and body lotions, aftershave and a perfume set, fluffy socks and a brightly coloured lap blanket, air fresheners, games like Scrabble, crossword puzzles, jigsaws, word-search and Sudoku puzzles, tins of biscuits, boxes of chocolates or a selection of sweets, large print books, magazines, colouring books or pencils, stuffed animal toys, picture calendars, indoor gardening sets and bird feeders with seeds or nuts.

Gifts should be wrapped up in seasonal paper and the type of item be made clear,

Gifts will then be distributed to various residential and care homes, hospices as well as identified individuals in the area.

Some gifts will also be passed on to the Sally’s Gift project at Llandough Hospital

The deadline for receiving donations will be Friday, December 15.

The drop-off points for donations include Parkman Funeral Home in Dinas Powys, Hickman Road Funeral Directors in Penarth, A.G Adams in Barry and W.A Brown and Son Funeralcare - College Street, Llantwit Major.

For any large volume donations, collection can be arranged by calling 07999 715251 or emailing ceri-lou@cherishedmemories.wales.