All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth

Present Aid (www.presentaid.org), the ethical gift collection from Christian Aid, has introduced new cool gift ideas for Autumn/Winter 2008 including a tooth extraction, guaranteed to put a smile on a loved one’s face this Christmas.

Christian Aid partner, Bethania, in Guatemala runs a health clinic offering poor families dental treatment and will whip out the offending tooth for just £11.

A set of paints and brushes (£20) could help women in Afghanistan gain new skills through a traditional sign-painting course which will improve their literacy and give them a valuable source of income.

Christmas is all about families, so why not help another family re-build their lives after a disaster with the new setting–up home kit which comprises of items such as a mattress, sheets, towels and cooking utensils for £48.

These are just some of the new virtual ethical gifts shoppers can buy for family and friends this Christmas through Present Aid.  All proceeds from Present Aid help support Christian Aid’s work in over 50 countries and fund one of six project areas linked to the individual gifts - for example, if you buy the tooth extraction, the money helps fund healthcare projects.

Gift prices start at just £8 for a basketball which could help bring peace and reconciliation through sport in war torn Burundi, the perfect stocking filler.  Alternatively club together with other family members to buy a baby buffalo for £93 which could provide an Egyptian family with milk and cheese that can be sold for an income.

Model Daisy Lowe, who recently travelled to Brazil with Christian Aid, saw first-hand how money donated is benefiting some of the world’s most needy communities.   Daisy said:  ‘When I went to Brazil I saw how important it was to give women who are struggling to survive a skill which they can then use to earn money with.  The painting kit available through Present Aid is amazing as it gives women the chance to support their families by painting traditional advertising signs.’

Other celebrity supporters of Present Aid include actor Damian Lewis and singers Ronan Keating and Lemar. 

Damian Lewis travelled went to Bolivia with Present Aid and chose a community tap as his ethical gift: ‘We all think of water as a basic human right.  I saw for myself when I travelled to Bolivia that some families have to dig water out the ground which is filthy, so the idea of a community tap from Christian Aid’s Present Aid catalogue would make a brilliant Christmas present.   £45 to provide the pump, pipes and tap stand to bring fresh water to a village must be money well spent.’

The deadline for Christmas gift purchases is 15 December 2008.  Order online at  www.presentaid.org or call 0845 3300 500 for a catalogue.  New gifts will be available from 1 September 2008.