Swiss solve problem of unwanted Christmas presents

Unwanted Christmas presents could make somebody else happy Keystone Archive

The Swiss have found a novel way of solving the perennial Christmas problem: what to do with all those unwanted presents.

Members of the public are being asked to donate unwanted or surplus gifts to the “Twice Christmas” charity campaign.

Until January 6, unwanted presents can be taken to any Swiss post office, from which they will be sent free of charge by Swiss Post to a central distribution point in Bern, before being divided up and distributed for delivery in Switzerland and overseas.

Last year, Swiss shoppers spent an estimated SFr2.5 billion ($1.5 billion) on gifts in the run-up to Christmas.

The Swiss Red Cross, which runs the campaign in conjunction with the post office and the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation, hopes some of the presents will end up in the hands of those who would not otherwise receive a gift at Christmas.

“In such an affluent society, if you have a child who gets the same gift twice for Christmas, you can give one of them to the Red Cross, and we think this is a nice idea,” said Swiss Post Office spokeswoman, Liselotte Spengler.

Gift distribution

Half of all parcels collected will be distributed within Switzerland, while the remainder will be sent to needy individuals and institutions in Belarus and Bulgaria.

“The Swiss Red Cross has been working in both countries for a couple of years and in both places the population suffers a lot because of poor social and economic conditions,” said Swiss Red Cross spokesman, Karl Schuler.

“Winter time is particularly hard, especially for large families, children and the elderly, [many of whom] got assistance from the state under the former system, but who are now completely forgotten,” he added.

Red Cross workers in Belarus and Bulgaria are responsible for the distribution of parcels to orphanages, schools, hospitals and homes for the elderly.

“Besides non-perishable goods like oil, rice and sugar, we need things like toys, toiletries, new clothes and shoes for children,” Schuler said.

“What we don’t want is old clothes and things people just clear out of their cellar and for which they no longer have any use. The idea is to send a new gift.”

Appeal’s fifth anniversary

The appeal was first launched five years ago, when a Swiss radio journalist asked listeners to send in unwanted Christmas presents.

“He asked people to send gifts which would be passed on to people living in bad social conditions both in Switzerland and in Eastern Europe,” Schuler said.

Last year, the post office received just over 70,000 parcels, double the amount collected during the first year of the Twice Christmas campaign in 1997.

“We receive a lot of things like soap, oil, toothbrushes and toothpaste,” said Spengler.

The annual bill for the delivery and distribution of the parcels exceeds SFr100,000 and the cost has to be met by the Swiss Red Cross.

“If you ask me whether it is cost-effective, I would have to say there are more cost-effective campaigns,” Schuler admits.

“But this action is of very important social significance. People like to share gifts at Christmas time, and we consider it our responsibility to make that possible,” he adds.

“And at the end of the day, it’s not only a financial question: for us it’s a humanitarian question.”

by Ramsey Zarifeh