Forget 12 days, this year Moore Park Beach Surf Lifesaving Club will be celebrating 12 years of Christmas gift-wrapping, continuing its popular annual fundraiser.
The dedicated volunteers have wrapped thousands of presents at the Stockland Bundaberg stall and haven’t missed a single one of the the last dozen festive seasons.
President Leigh Schuch said the funds would all be put towards the construction of a new building for the community group.
“The public can bring their gifts along and get them wrapped in time for Christmas,” Leigh said.
“There is a gold coin donation or this year we will have eftpos facilities available.
“We just leave it up to the customer to decide.”
Before this 12 year stretch, Leigh said they had previously held the fundraiser between 200 and 2005.
“Always at Stockland.
“We’ve had fantastic rapport there.
“They’ve been great supporters of our gift wrapping.”
Presents are wrapped in high quality paper by very experienced volunteers.
“In the lead0up to Christmas we can wrap 100 in an hour,” Leigh said.
“It is phenomenal.”
She said there was never any shortage of club members to help out with the annual fundraiser.
“I do enjoy it and so do the other wrappers. Some of our members absolutely love gift wrapping,” she said.
“It’s a great way to meet people and a great fundraiser. You get great gift ideas.”
Leigh said it wasn’t just a chance to have a beautifully wrapped present but to support local surf lifesavers.
“We’re not only on the beach, we provide a community service and that’s really what surf lifesaving is about.
“We’re providing another community service like our fellows that wear the red and yellow on the beach.”
The gift-wrapping station will be open until Christmas Eve and this year will feature eftpos, with a $5 minimum spend.
The open hours for gift-wrapping will be on display at the station, located near Priceline and Lowes.
In celebration of the festive season, Stockland Bundaberg is providing socially-distanced Santa photos as well as special sensory-friendly and pet photography sessions.
The Stockland Play augmented reality app has also made its debut in time for the festive season.
Sensitive Santa photo sessions will be available on Sunday, 6 December and Sunday, 13 December, offered during a quiet time before the centre opens to the public.
Customers are required to book their spot online in advance.
Customers will also be able to book festive photos for their pets with ‘Paws and Claus’ sessions available on Thursday, 10 December.
Stockland Bundaberg will be operating under extended trading hours to allow more time for customers to shop in the lead up to Christmas, for more info head to stockland.com.au/bundaberg for more details.
