A second-hand Christmas
One Londonderry mum organised a Christmas toy swap to help low income families reduce on costs and cut down on waste.
One Londonderry mother has organised a Christmas toy swap to help low income families reduce on costs and reduce on waste.
Catherine Pollock organised the event in Longtower Youth Club in November.
Toys were allocated on a point based system to parents, who would then tell the Elves what toys to bring their children on Christmas morning.
Catherine, a single parent, said Christmas is an incredibly tough time financially on some families.
The idea started when Catherine noticed the vast amount of toys in charity shops near Christmas time.
She was also put off from purchasing brand new toys that were covered in plastic.
"If you see toys they are wrapped in plastic, in cardboard boxes, they come in a plastic bag, if you get them delivered in the post they're wrapped in more plastic", she said.
In 2018 she vowed that next Christmas she was going to try and get all her child's toys from pre-loved sources.
The swap allowed families to come and donate toys their children no longer play with to be loved again by another.
Video Journalist: Mike McBride
