CHRISTMAS IS A time for family, being cosy around the fire, sharing gifts and enjoying all the season’s comforts.

But what about people who don’t have a place to call home this Christmas? For some, not even a roof over their heads? Since it’s the season of giving, we thought we’d sow a little inspiration for simple, effective ways you and your colleagues could fundraise for homeless people this festive season.

If you have any other cool fundraising ideas, please do share them in the comments. Every little helps.

1. Festive Fridays

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This is a nice way for your office to ease yourselves into the weekend every Friday in December – mulled wine and mince pies, with a donation to a homeless charity in exchange for indulging. Making it into a regular routine will add a bit of familiarity and craic to things, and by next year, people will be dying for the first Festive Friday to kick off…

2. Inter-Department Bake Off Extravaganza

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And leading on from the Festive Fridays idea, why not bake yourself? And make it a little more interesting by injecting a bit of healthy competition. After all, everyone loves the Showstopper on #GBBO right? Time to channel Mary Berry. Place all of the baked goods your workmates enter onto a table, ask people to pay to try, and then donate to the cake they think is the best. The delicious treat that raises the most cash wins the day.

3. Bring Your Kids To Work Day

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One for a workplace with lots of parents on the payroll – a “bring your kids to work” day in the lead-up to Christmas. Christmas is all about children really, and there’s nothing better than seeing lots of little ones get excited for Santa. See if you can rope a kindly staff member into dressing up, then charge parents entrance to your office grotto.

4. Decorate Your Desk

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Again, nothing greases the wheels of fun in an office environment like an element of competition – this time, challenge your workplace to decorate their desk the best, with a donation to enter the fun and a raffled prize for participants. This is a fun way to jazz up a raffle, get the office looking festive and fundraise, in one fell swoop. (That’ll show your boss you’re efficient, eh?)

5. The Shoebox Appeal

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One tried and tested method of spreading some goodwill and helping the less fortunate at Christmas is a shoebox appeal. Everyone in work brings in a shoebox, decorated nicely with Christmas paper, and fills it with genuinely useful items for those having a hard time. (Things like hats, gloves, socks, toiletries, playing cards are welcomed – a full list here.)

6. Bucket List

If your place of work isn’t all too gone on big gestures or events, then there are still ways you can raise funds to tackle the rising homelessness crisis. You could place a simple, discreet bucket in a communal area, with a little note about the work your local homeless charity does and let people leave as much or as little as they like.

7. Send Christmas Cheer In A Card

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Another way to brighten up the office is with a Christmas jumper day. Everyone loves a good novelty geansaí – and this is an ideal day to get everyone together to throw a few euro into a bucket and get an office-wide snap of everyone taken. You could even use this festive, jolly photo of all the staff as your company Christmas card this year. Two birds, one stone.

An Post is providing a way for businesses to engage with customers this Christmas and help Peter McVerry Trust at the same time. AdMailer.ie makes it even easier for you to send a Christmas card of thanks to your most valuable customers and key suppliers this year and also help to open doors for homeless people. AdMailer.ie Christmas cards include card, envelope, delivery and for every card you send, 20% of the price (€1.50 each ex VAT) will be donated to Peter McVerry Trust.

Got any more suggestions? Leave them down below.