This year, the Glebe Conference took a fresh approach to Christmas giving. Inspired by one man’s simple but powerful story, we shifted from heavy hampers to personalised Christmas Gift Bags that honour dignity, choice, and cultural needs. With the support of our community, we reached over 200 people with lighter hands and fuller hearts.
Christmas Gift Bags – A new approach to giving
For many years, our Christmas hampers were created from generous pantry donations from parishes across our Conference area and the Pymble Conference. While the support was extraordinary, the hampers became larger, heavier, and increasingly difficult to manage. Sorting took hours, boxes were handled multiple times, and delivery often stretched over many hours. Each year, 130–140 hampers were delivered, with up to 20% returned when people weren’t home. This year, the Glebe Conference would like to share how we re‑imagined our Christmas giving to better meet the needs of the people we assist and to care for our Members and volunteers.
What inspired the change?
Our new approach began with a conversation with a young man, “Ben,” who received one of the hampers. When asked about his Christmas, he said it had been “Fantastic!” His circumstances hadn’t changed, but he explained that he had been able to buy five cooked prawns — a small but meaningful tradition that made Christmas feel special to him.
Ben’s story prompted us to reflect deeply. Many of the people we assist live alone, rarely cook, and come from diverse cultural backgrounds, including First Nations communities. We realised that traditional hampers, while well‑intentioned, didn’t always align with people’s needs, preferences, or traditions. Ben reminded us of the importance of dignity through choice.
“Christmas was fantastic — I bought five cooked prawns.”
Ben’s simple joy reminded us that dignity and choice matter most.
Principles that guided us
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Respecting individual dietary needs and cultural practices
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Ensuring people can choose what suits them, without waste
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Reducing manual‑handling risks for volunteers
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Simplifying logistics to make the process safer and more sustainable
Our new model: Christmas gift bags
Instead of large hampers, we created smaller, lighter, and more personalised Christmas gift bags. Each bag included:
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Cloth or paper gift bags decorated by St Scholastica’s students
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Christmas cards made by St James School children
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2–3 single‑serve Christmas‑themed food items (adjusted per household)
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Coles food gift cards
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Kmart gift cards for clothing, household items, or toys
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Information about NILS, EAPA, Vinnies Assist, and Homes NSW Youth Development Scholarships
A community effort
This new approach was made possible through strong community engagement:
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Students from St James and St Scholastica’s
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Our three parishes, whose Christmas Appeal fully funded the initiative
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Our partners from the Pymble Conference, who continue to support our visitations and Christmas activities
The impact
The response from the people we assisted was overwhelmingly positive. In just 1.5 hours, we assembled 131 gift bags. Members and volunteers including local University Conference members delivered them to 234 people across Glebe, Forest Lodge, Ultimo, and Pyrmont.
Our Christmas Appeal raised $14,800, exceeding our costs of $13,000.
We will continue refining our processes for Christmas 2026, committed to offering support that upholds dignity, choice, and respect.
Thanks to the creativity of local students, the generosity of our parishes, and the insight of the people we assist, our Christmas Gift Bags brought dignity, choice, and joy to the people we assist across Glebe and surrounding suburbs.
Narelle Story
Glebe Conference President
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