Four days ago we launched our Big Fat Secret Santa appeal with the wonderful guys and girls at NewsThump, Southend News Network, Angry People in Local Papers and Tuckered to buy presents for children living in poverty and care.

We’re now at 2,329 gifts worth more than £18,986.68.

These are the children who have fled domestic violence with their mothers and are living in women’s refuges, these are the children of families in poverty, homeless children, children in care, children waiting to be adopted and children who are acting as carers for their sick parents.

We have bought 83 footballs, 175 copies of the Gruffalo and more than 200 sets of lego and countless other gifts and we want to buy much more!

Radio Aire are now involved and will be helping us to distribute gifts in Yorkshire through their Mission Christmas Appeal, Jason Manford has retweeted the appeal on Twitter and Barnados head office in Liverpool is gearing up to start receiving presents from us in the morning.

How can you help us? Follow the instructions below.

Visit out our Amazon Wish List by clicking the following link The Big Fat Secret Santa.

Choose a gift that suits your budget.

Choose the delivery address which is currently Helen Leach, The Giving Back Toy Appeal.

Buy it and that’s it.

The gift will be shipped directly to a toy appeal where it will be sorted by volunteers and will make it into the hands of a child on Christmas Morning.

The first batch of gifts arriving in Rochdale at the Rochdale Council Staff’s Charity – Giving Back

It really couldn’t be easier, what are you waiting for? Please if you can go there now and buy a present. Buy ten if you can afford to and if you can’t spread the word for us. Everybody has the power to do something to spread some festive cheer to those who need it most.

And when you’ve done that, share this post and ask your friends to do the same.

Merry Christmas, happy shopping and thank you, thank you, thank you!

Quentin D Fortesqueue is a founding editor of The Rochdale Herald. Part time amateur narcissist and full time satirist Quentin is never happier than when playing his lute and drinking a full bodied Bordeaux. He rarely plays the lute and never gets to drink Bordeaux.