It’s officially one month to Christmas and as we count down to this festive day, we are all in need of some Christmas cheer given the unfolding situation in Beijing. So in the true spirit of Christmas, here’s how you can have all the trimmings of Christmas while also lending a much-needed hand to these charitable organizations and the meaningful work they do.

Roundabout

Roundabout’s physical store may be closed but its Christmas stockpile is still available for purchase! And as you probably know, all of their sale proceeds go to providing aid to a wide range of people, including the elderly, children in orphanages and from poor families, mentally or physically challenged people and women from disadvantaged backgrounds.

So if you’re in need of new Christmas decorations this year, check out their inventory that includes Christmas trees and the works – decorations, lights, etc – and also Santa Claus costumes, hats, socks, and also wreaths, snowmen, deer and more! For little ones, they also have Christmas books with classics like “How the Grinch stole Christmas”, ” Merry Christmas, Curious George”, German and Mandarin books, decor and orgiami guides, as well as Christmas stickers for sale.

With much of Roundabout’s staff in lockdown, they seek your understanding in making arrangements with their store manager Lily to pick up your orders from the store, or have it delivered via kuaidi. Alternatively, if you have the means, you could do as big-hearted expat Claire Willats is doing and make a visit to the Roundabout store to pick up a big order on behalf of friends and neighbors who might not be able to travel freely at this time. Willats is only able to help out within her compound of Beijing Riviera, but perhaps she can inspire other kind individuals to do the same for their communities.

Find it:
Cathay View Plaza, 2 Xiangjiang Bei Lu (Behind Didi’s market at the intersection with Jingmi Lu), Shunyi District顺义区香江北路2号

Love & Hope

Love & Hope Center is a non-profit organization that provides practical vocational training to underprivileged teens. Besides sewing products such as their handmade felt bags and boxes, they also have baked goods such as bagels and croissants. All sales proceeds go to bettering the education and welfare of these at-risk youths.

For this festive season, they are offering handmade Christmas wreaths which several Beijing expats are very pleased with – Bec Taylor says, “Our beautiful wreath is still going strong after many, many years. Best Christmas purchase I have ever made.”

To order, scan the QR code in the image below and scroll through to the bottom for a list of their offerings.

Images: Pexels, courtesy of Roundabout, Love & Hope