Baby Branches and Tinies Christmas Wishes collecting Christmas Eve boxes for needy families

A trio of mums are working together to donate Christmas gifts to low income families.
Jen FlintJen Flint
Jen Flint

Sisters Lizzie Burke and Frances Balmer, who form Baby Branches, are joining with Jen Flint to support her Tinies Christmas Wishes campaign to donate Christmas Eve packs to families on low incomes.They are asking for donations of children’s pyjamas, a story or sticker book and a sweet treat, suitable for young children, such as rusks, wafers, baby biscuits or a Christmas dinner pouch of purée. For babies under one, it is suggested people donate a treat for the parents.

The deadline to donate presents is Monday, December 10 and you can drop off at any Baby Branch collection point: Morrisons, Riversway, J’adore Mama, Lytham, and Monkey Magic, Bamber Bridge.These will then be distributed to families through the Baby Branches network.

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Baby outfits collected by Baby BranchesBaby outfits collected by Baby Branches
Baby outfits collected by Baby Branches

Mother-of-two Lizzie, 34, of Broadgate, said: “My sister and I set up Baby Branches seven months ago as we found we had lots of old baby outfits and no-one to hand then down to. A lot of parents, who work, still find themselves in poverty and are struggling for money. “There are also families in refuges, who are victims of domestic abuse.“So we decided to set up our own charity Baby Branches, collecting baby clothing to distribute to families in need.“A customer at one of our collection points suggested we join forces with Tinies Christmas Wishes and we thought it was a great idea.“The idea of the Christmas Eve boxes is to encourage family time to mark the start of Christmas.”

Jen Flint, 35, of Lytham, who has two children, said: “The idea for this came about from a conversation with another mum about people posting on social media about Christmas Eve boxes and extravagant gift and I know not everyone can afford that. It has a huge impact on parents who can’t afford these things.“So I wanted to do this to enable families to have things they might not normally have. I also think it is good for older children to get involved in so they understand the importance of giving to other people.“I have been really surprised at the response I have had. I have had lots of donations from people and Osborne Books has donated some books.”