Over 1000 children will receive a gift bag filled with presents thanks to the generosity of community groups, businesses and members of the public.
Foster Hope Otago co-ordinator Juanita Willems said an assortment of gifts will be given to individual foster children and children in care.
"We give them to the social workers who then deliver them on to the kids."
The bags include age-appropriate gifts for girls and boys, and there were also gift bags for babies.
The bag of presents had a variety of items such as sports equipment, soft toys, dolls, colouring books, board games and building blocks, as well as toiletries.
"I like to think that if we are giving a child who wouldn’t generally play outside a ball, then there’s a really good chance they might go outside and play with it."
The gifts were a combination of new donated items as well as items bought thanks to cash donations.
"We are grateful for everything that we get, and it all gets used."
Any items left over after the distribution of the Christmas gift bags will be used throughout the year as part of Foster Hope Otago’s project of providing backpacks filled with essential items for children as they enter the foster care system.
