For immediate release: Monday 17 October, 2005

This Christmas, wrap up a cow, put a classroom under the tree and squeeze 50 seedlings into a stocking.

Oxfam's new Christmas Unwrapped 2005 alternative gift catalogue is hitting New Zealand for the first time and it expects that come December, its quirky but life-saving gifts will again compete with the latest toys and gadgets in the 'must have' Christmas present charts.

The Christmas 2005 Oxfam Unwrapped range is on sale from today (17th October). Cows, goats, chickens, building materials, textbooks and more, can all be bought online on Oxfam’s updated website www.oxfam.org.nz or by calling 0800 400 666.

The Unwrapped range features 11 'funusual' present ideas, including new gifts and proven favourites for all budgets. Gifts start at just $5 (a field of beans) and rise to $1,000 to teach 100 children. The scheme means buyers give twice – once to the recipient and once to a community in one of over 100 countries where Oxfam works.

Once the purchase has been made, the recipient receives a card and voucher explaining how their gift is used to help people overcome poverty, this can then be personalised and sent as a gift to friends or loved ones. The gift will then go to where it is needed most to allow families in need to work themselves out of poverty.

In the UK, the previous two editions of Unwrapped have sold nearly 200,000 vital but unusual gifts – totalling more than 2.5 million individual items for communities in need.

The items in the catalogue have been selected based on their long-term benefits to communities Oxfam helps, and have been chosen by the communities themselves.

As Scott Young, Oxfam’s Marketing Coordinator said: "To you, these presents are a fun alternative to more golf balls for dad or another box of chocolates for mum. But to the families we help they have life-saving value and can mean the difference between being able to feed their families, or giving their children an education."

The Christmas 2005 Oxfam Unwrapped range goes on sale from 17th October. The catalogue is available by calling 0800 400 666, or by visiting www.oxfam.org.nz. Orders must be placed by 16th December to allow time for delivery.

ENDS

www.oxfam.org.nz

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