TV presenter and author Katie Piper has joined forces with Dunelm to encourage people to donate their old Christmas decorations. Part of the interior retailer’s 2021 community Christmas campaign, the aim is to redistribute unwanted decs to some 175 care homes across the country to spread some much-needed festive joy. The campaign comes after a study found that over 50% of Brits either hoard or bin unwanted trimmings.

Piper explains more about the ‘DunElves’ decor donation drive in Dunelm’s promotional video:

‘I’m working with Dunelm to help the British public to think a little differently this year. Dunelm will be giving a new lease of life to unwanted or unused Christmas decorations handed in at their stores across the UK,’ she says.

‘Dunelm’s emphasis on community has really resonated with me – they are focused on making a tangible difference to local care homes and community groups, bringing joy to their residents who can sometimes find Christmas difficult or lonely.’

Declutter for Christmas

A whopping 55% of Brits confess to either hoarding or throwing away unwanted Christmas decorations, with 39% admitting to owning decs that they never put up. Now, you can get rid of these unused items for the greater good, by taking baubles and festive ornaments to your local Dunelm store.

Many of the donated decorations will then be upcycled at selected in-store craft workshops. Once this is done, the store teams will deliver them to local care homes to bring festive joy. Dunelm will also be hosting virtual craft workshops on social channels to help customers upcycle decorations from home. Any excess donations will be shared with charities Age UK and Shelter to make sure none of the recycled decorations go to waste.

Charitable causes

Alongside the donations, Dunelm will also be providing £30,000 of generous care packages to each of the care homes, refuges and shelters involved. This will bring extra joy to the carers who will be working hard over the festive period.

The company will also continue its successful ‘Delivering Joy’ campaign which launched in 2020. This saw 20,000 gifts being delivered to the less fortunate with Dunelm partnering with local care homes, schools, women’s refuges and animal shelters. Shoppers are able to then pick up a Joy gift tag from the store, personalised to the recipient to donate a corresponding unsealed gift bag filled with gifts. This year, Dunelm hopes to send out more than 25,000 Christmas gifts, donated by colleagues and customers through the initiative.

If you’d like to find out more about Dunelm’s Christmas campaign and their Christmas collections, head to their website.

RELATED ARTICLES

• 8 of the best Christmas wreaths for 2021
• Christmas decorations: 5 top trends for 2021
• How to get a £9 Christmas tree from IKEA