If I’m honest, I’ve been pretty underwhelmed by the majority of campaigns this year, with little innovation or desire to offer something different than ‘Give X to help Y’. When I decided I was going to write an article on the best ones out there, it nearly turned into a ‘Why are there no good Christmas appeals?’ Luckily though, I found 5 which I think are great and so I’m going to use this platform for positivity; tis the season after all.

False Festivity of the Christmas season will leave many feeling like they’ve come up short when the Big Day rolls around. The cultural obsession with social media and constant one-upmanship means that no matter how rubbish we are really finding our Christmas Day, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram will be filled with photos of beautiful presents, delicious turkeys and smiling faces – with none of the arguments, too-drunk relatives, burnt Christmas puddings and falling asleep during the extra-long Eastenders.

The fact of the matter is, that too many people feel like they cannot maintain the festive expectations and seeing everyone else’s seemingly ‘perfect’ days can often exacerbate feelings of depression and worthlessness. That’s why, as part of their Christmas appeal, Samaritans are encouraging people to not only make a donation to support their services, but also encouraging people the share their #RealChristmas stories. From giving Chicken Pox to family members, to having to work on Christmas Day. Samaritans want everyone to know that this Christmas, its okay to not feel okay.

Isn’t it extra magical that you can send a letter from Santa to an excited little person in your life and at the same time help children who’s Christmas will not be filled with happiness and love? For a £5 donation, NSPCC allows you to create a personalised letter from Santa to any kids in your life, including their favourite activities, achievements for the year and things they’ve got up to with their friends. I really love that instead of knocking this sort of letter out on your PC, the kids can receive something exciting in the post and, at the same time as making their day you can help another child who will be spending Christmas in fear, poverty or abuse.

When we make a donation to a charity, especially for something tangible, we hope we can raise a smile to the person on the receiving end of our generosity. But are we ever really told this by the organisations explicitly? This Christmas, Barts Charity are actively encouraging us to ‘Send a Smile’ to someone who will spend Christmas Day in hospital. Whether it’s providing a jumper for an older person to keep cosy this winter, or a sensory toy to help a distressed younger patient, donations will help keep people smiling, even as they spend Christmas day in hospital.

Giving and receiving gifts is the best thing about Christmas, right? But what about when it’s for the office Secret Santa and you’ve picked someone you have no idea what to buy for? Least of all for a fiver. Do you play it safe and go for a bottle of wine or try to get a gift that’s actually had some thought put into it? All these questions must have been asked at some point at the British Heart Foundation, because this year they are encouraging us to buy our Secret Santa gifts from their charity shops. Suggestions include funny mugs for the boss, travel books for the globe trotter or vintage vinyl’s for the music lover. They even have a downloadable planner so you don’t have to spend ages ripping up bits of paper to write names on. At Christmastime, charity shops can often be overlooked, so bringing our attention back to them to take the stress out of the Secret Santa shopping is a great way to get people to put their hands in their pockets for a good cause.

Ask anyone what their favourite thing about Christmas is and the chances are they’ll tell you its food.  In my family the fridge and cupboards are stocked full of treats from Brussels sprout with bacon and chestnuts; smoked salmon; and pickled walnuts (seriously, they’re amazing) and every available surface is covered with chocolate. The sad truth though, is over 130,000 people will go without food this Christmas Day and as the festivities draw closer food banks are under more pressure than at any other time of year.  The Trussell Trust has joined together with the Unite union to create Hope Not Hunger and to provide not only food, but emotional support and practical advice this winter. The realisation of the amount of people who will go hungry this Christmas Day, when most of us will be tucking into mountains of food, is enough to make this an incredibly powerful campaign.

What Christmas Appeals have particularly inspired you this year?