The Giving Tree.

Last year we were busy struggling on our reduced Overseas Cost of Living Allowance and possibly not being as organised as I would like we missed out on putting together a bag of gifts for the Giving Tree. This year we have filled 2 bags of gifts.

Christmas has changed as we have moved away and as we've "grown up" traditions have changed. We didn't really exchange gifts last year either and that is partly due to the fact that we are travelling and most people don't do that with a Labradoodle or snowboards. What do you really need as a gift when you are an adult with income, savings etc.

My school is supporting the Giving Tree this year by filling 800 bags for migrant children and teachers at a school in Shanghai. These children tend to have 2 - 3 sets of clothes that would be hand washed and air dried. Entire families live in one room and bathrooms would be shared by perhaps 10 families. No insulation. No heating. No cooling systems. Families earn no more than 2000 or 3000RMB a month. My husband and I opted to fill two bags this year.

We were given a bag for a 7 year old girl and a bag for a teacher. Each bag should have a total budget of 250RMB spent on it and include a warm coat, hat, scarf, gloves, stationery and a gift. The student bag and teacher bag were slightly different, but not by much. The more we read the information and browsed the shops and Taobao the harder the shopping became.

You really shouldn't spend more than the assigned amount as all of the bags are opened together, but finding a warm coat for the amount you are meant to spend is not easy. We felt guilty adding up the amount of each item, but it would be awful for the childrens bags to be too different. It was lovely picking out cute stationery for a 7 year old girl who loves pink and Barbie. Cute stationery costs so little here and it was fun having an excuse to buy it all. Barbie dolls however was not really in the budget unless we used Taobao and even then we are a little over. How can you deny a 7 year old living the life she does a Barbie that cost 10RMB more than you are meant to spend?

Buying for a teacher I was a little worried that I couldn't purchase all of the necessities for the budget, but we shopped around and managed find a great wind proof jacket at a local market exactly on the jacket budget. We were also asked to spend a higher amount on stationery as the schools are greatly in need of supplies. I dread to think how long we actually spent in the stationery aisle at Auchan weighing up our options between various items. Bulk v's quality v's cost. Some serious debating happened in the stationery aisle.

I won't be there when the bags are opened as many of the donors won't be but I can only begin to fathom the joy that the contents of the bags will bring.

Many families live transient life styles or have simply uprooted for work. Every day I see a reminder of all those in Suzhou who are not settled but living in temporary housing for work.