Dunelm has launched a new Christmas Tree Tag Community Service at stores all across the UK with the aim of “delivering joy” this festive season.
The community group-ran campaign sees branches of the high street homeware chain install Christmas trees decorated with gift tags which feature details of some of the local community’s most vulnerable and lonely people in care homes, primary schools and refuges.
Shoppers can then take a gift tag, purchase a gift / make a shoebox for that person, and help “deliver joy”.
People up and down the country have been taking to social media to spread the word of the campaign and encourage others to head to their local Dunelm store in support of the worthy cause.
The campaign is already running at a number of local stores and will continue in the lead up to Christmas
Apparently @DunelmUK stores have a Christmas tree with tags on showing the names of all the people in care homes who have no one and an indication of what they would like for Christmas. You take a tag, buy the item and hand it over at the checkout. ❤️🌲
If you pass a Dunelm in the next few weeks please go in and grab a card off the tree. A group of care home residents have wrote what they like in the hope to receive a gift this Christmas. A simple £5 gift can make someone’s Christmas 🥺💗 pic.twitter.com/aU2y6ferHh
Although the concept of taking tags off a tree can be found at Dunelm stores nationwide, ways to “deliver joy this Christmas” appear to be differing from branch to branch.
Annalise Baker – Staff Member at Dunelm UK – said in a local community group: “This year we are doing a campaign called ‘delivering joy’. We have teamed up with local schools and care homes and others to deliver some joy to the vulnerable people who may not see anyone over Christmas or receive much.
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“We are asking local people to pop into store and take a tag off our tree and fill a shoe box with some gifts.
Dunelm UK / IYA
She continued: “We can’t wait to help spread some joy this Christmas and to help the community. As a business we thought in a time where there is so much uncertainty and worry for people and their families, we thought this was a great way to bring people together in our community’s to help each other out.
“We think it’s so important to make sure that everyone has something to look forward to and make them smile over the Christmas period, especially the vulnerable members of the community that may don’t get chance to see a loved one over the next few months due to COVID-19.”
Apparently every Dunelm store has a Christmas tree with tags on showing the names of all the people in care homes who have no one and an indication of what they would like for Christmas. You take a tag, buy the item and hand it over at the checkout.
Abbie Higham – Community Champion for Dunelm – added: “We’re asking our community group to come into stores and donate gifts for the person they’ve chosen on the label and the idea is just to support our local community.
“It’s going to be a hard Christmas for people if they’re struggling so we want to make sure they’re going to get a gift this year, at least something.”
“We’d like to reach as many people as possible.”
Shoppers keen to take part in the campaign are are encouraged to check how their local Dunelm store is planning to “deliver joy” this year, so if you are planning on heading down to your nearest branch, its advisable to check the opening times ahead of your visit.
Major pop star crowns humble rice and three cafe as ‘Jewel of Manchester’ ahead of sold-out gig
Thomas Melia
A beloved city centre takeaway has been given the title of ‘Jewel of Manchester’ by chart-topping UK singer Sam Smith.
Known for hits like ‘Stay With Me’, ‘I’m Not The Only One’ and more recently ‘Unholy’, UK pop-ballad act Sam Smith also likes to drop a food review every once in a while.
Currently on the road with a run of shows in Manchester and London for their ‘To Be Free’ live shows, Sam Smith is stopping off at some of our city’s much-loved spots.
On their food-reviewing account titled ‘Sam Served’, where they adopt the aptly-fitting nickname ‘Ham Smith’, Sam has visited restaurants across the globe – and most recently turned their attention to Manchester’s own This & That.
Smith decided to pop in and grab a cheeky rice and three from long-standing backstreet food business This & That, and it certainly went down a treat.
After sampling their amazing selection of meat, vegetable and vegan curries, the musician crowned this family-run Indian takeaway a ‘Jewel of Manchester’.
The hitmaker described this Northern Quarter Indian eatery as ‘Everything food should be’ and definitely enjoyed all the curries on offer ‘leaving belly and heart full’.
This & That prides itself on affordable and comforting food with its ‘Rice and Three Curries’ starting from just £6 – not bad for a city centre foodie spot.
Sam has racked up an impressive 490k followers via their ‘Sam Served’ profile, with famous faces like Lily Allen, Denise Welch and CMAT all wanting to know the superstar’s foodie thoughts.
After enjoying a curry or three, Sam Smith also made sure to feed their soul to by venturing down to Afflecks and getting lost in the music at Mars Tapes.
Recognised as one of the UK’s only cassette and tape shops, Mars Tapes lets you flick through their crates of physical media and even preview tracks before you buy with its dedicated listening areas.
It’s safe to say that Smith has ‘Latched’ onto Manchester’s independent business scene and we’re here for it.
The London-born artist has just released their latest album Hazel Eyes and is currently amid a UK residency tour with two dates in Manchester’s Albert Hall and eight shows set for London Coliseum.
You can now have a private sleepover amongst all the history inside Manchester Museum
Emily Sergeant
Manchester Museum is now offering one lucky family the chance to have a sleepover with Stan the Tyrannosaurus rex.
For the first time in Manchester Museum’s history, one lucky family will be given the chance to experience an incredible night at the museum.
This unique opportunity is being offered as part of a prize draw, allowing visitors to find out what happens once the sun goes down inside the Fossils and Dinosaurs gallery – in the company of Stan, the famous Tyrannosaurus rex, of course.
The Fossils and Dinosaurs gallery is one of the most iconic spaces within Manchester Museum.
Having opened to the public all the way back in 1888, it’s part of the museum’s original building designed by celebrated Alfred Waterhouse, who also designed Manchester Town Hall and London’s Natural History Museum.
Not only will the lucky winning family enjoy an overnight stay in the gallery, but they’ll also be treated to a guided torchlight tour of the galleries after the Museum has closed, as well as other fun activities and a film screening too before bed.
You can now have a private sleepover inside Manchester Museum / Credit: The Manc Group
“We can’t be completely sure what happens when the sun goes down in our Fossils and Dinosaurs gallery, because nobody has ever spent the night in there before, but we can only imagine the kind of fun that can be had with Stan the T. rex and his friends,” said Dean Whiteside, Head of Commercial and Operations at Manchester Museum.
“This is a chance to be a part of museum history and enjoy the kind of once-in-a-lifetime experience you can’t usually buy.
“At the same time, Manchester Museum is a charity so, by getting behind this initiative, you’ll be helping to support vital work that impacts the lives of people across Greater Manchester and beyond.”
Fancy it then? You can enter the prize draw by buying a ticket for £5 from the Manchester Museum Shop, with each ticket counting as one entry and the winner set to be chosen at random from all valid entries.
The prize draw is now open and closes on Monday 28 September 2026.
Emily Sergeant -
28th October 2020 
