Every child deserves a little magic at Christmas.
Help make Christmas magical for Rotherham children by donating new toys and gifts to the town’s longest established toy appeal.
Every year, our town comes together to make sure no child wakes up without a gift on Christmas morning. The Rotherham Christmas Toy Appeal works closely with schools, social services, and local charities to ensure toys reach children who need them most.
Thanks to your generosity, last year over 2,250 children in our town had a present waiting under the tree.
What Is the Christmas Toy Appeal?
The Rotherham Christmas Toy Appeal is the town’s longest established festive toy drive that has been going since 1991. For over 30 years, we have continued to provide Christmas gifts to children and young people in Rotherham who might otherwise go without.
Each year, we are supported by Parkgate Shopping, Rotherham Radio, the Rotherham Advertiser and many other organisations who help co-ordinate the appeal. We also have a team of Christmas elves who help us pick and pack the thousands of gifts we give out.
And of course, we couldn’t do it without the generous local people, businesses, and organisations who donate toys and gifts.
How It Works
Help us make Christmas happen.
The process is simple, and every small act of kindness matters:
- Choose a Tag
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Pick an age tag from the trees at Parkgate Shopping for a child you’d like to buy for, from 0-18.
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- Buy A Gift
- Buy something you think a child of that age would appreciate at Christmas to the maximum value of £20.
- Drop it Off
- Drop your gift in to any of the stores on Parkgate Shopping for the attention of the Christmas Toy Appeal.
- Our Elves Go Shopping
- Our volunteers select a gift from the donated toys for each child based on what they’ve asked Santa for.
- Our Elves Go Shopping
- Professional services collect the gifts and deliver them to families, giving parents and carers the joy of ownership as they wrap them for Christmas morning.
Stories of Christmas Magic.
Your support goes beyond a present under the tree—it brings hope, joy, and a sense of normality to children during the festive season.
Here’s what parents and children have to say:
“We thought Christmas was cancelled this year. Then we received a bag of beautiful gifts for our children. It meant the world to us.”
“The presents were perfect, and our children felt so loved. Thank you to everyone who made it happen.”
Get Involved Could You Be A Drop Off?
We are always looking for more local business and premises to become an official drop off point for the Rotherham Christmas Toy Appeal or organise their own collection amongst your staff.
Please get in touch if you want to support the 2025 Rotherham Christmas Toy Appeal and spread some festive magic.
Meet Charlotte, our youngest volunteer brining Christmas magic to Rotherham.
Fourteen-year-old Charlotte, from Kimberworth, is the youngest volunteer supporting the Rotherham Toy Appeal – and she’s been making Christmas brighter for local children since she was just ten!
This festive season marks the fifth year Charlotte has poured her creativity and kindness into designing and selling her own range of Christmas cards.
Over the past few years, Charlotte has raised over £1,300 for the appeal, with every penny helping to buy gifts for children who might otherwise go without.
This year, Charlotte’s Christmas card collection includes three fun designs: Mistletoad, Fa La La Llama, and The Grinch (her best seller!)
A pack of three cards costs £2.50, and money wallets are two for £1.50.
You can find Charlotte’s cards at:
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Boulton’s Family Butchers, St John’s Green, Kimberworth Park
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Salon 31, Wellgate
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Studio 62, Parkgate
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Something Brew Inn, Rawmarsh
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Polished Beauty, Thorogate
Or visit Charlotte’s stalls at the Toy Appeal Launch on Friday 7th November at Parkgate Shopping 6pm-7pm, or the Hellaby Hall Christmas Market on Sunday 30th November, 11am–3pm to pick up your cards and support her amazing fundraising efforts.