The best Christmas campaigns in 2023

It’s that time of year already, with charities rolling out festive campaigns to attract donations and raise awareness of the great work they do.

A recent survey from match funding platform, Big Give, found that a quarter of people will donate less to charity this Christmas due to the cost-of-living crisis – that’s potentially £3bn at risk. So campaigns are going to have to work hard to make people act.  

Here are five campaigns that will catch your eye, warm your heart, and maybe make you shed a tear or two.

Action for Children   

Now in its sixth year, Action for Children’s Secret Santa campaign is supporting some of the 4.2 million children across the UK who are living in poverty.

The campaign uses cut-out, paper-crafted illustrations, which appear across social posts and the campaign’s video. Narrated by Larry Lamb, it shares the experience of three children whose stories come to life through Christmas cards on a festive mantelpiece. They represent the millions of children across the country who don’t have the basics of hot meals, winter clothes, and a warm home – let alone a gift on Christmas day.

As Action for Children put it: “Many young children today won’t know Christmas without a global pandemic or a brutal cost-of-living crisis. And it’s the most vulnerable children who are paying the highest price”.

The campaign calls on people to be a Secret Santa for a vulnerable child. You can see a running total of donations and a map of where Secret Santas are popping up…which at time of writing was £265,739 and rising…

Marie Curie

It’s hard to talk about death and end of life care at any time of year – let alone at Christmas. But Marie Curie have found a way to balance poignancy and warmth in their ‘Care, comfort and joy’ campaign.

The end of life charity worked with GOOD to create an integrated campaign, covering social, direct mail, and TV. After extensive focus groups, a sensitive campaign emerged, one based on the lived experiences of those who have lost loved ones at Christmas time. It also features Annie, a real Marie Curie nurse, who gives us an insight into her work.  

In the UK, someone dies without the care they need on average every five minutes. This authentic and moving campaign asks for donations to fund more moments of care, comfort, and joy – for people at the end of life, or who are losing or grieving for a loved one.

Royal National Institute of Blind People

The Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) is asking people to become Joy Makers this festive season. How? By making a donation so that children with vision impairment receive an accessible letter from Santa.

Opening an accessible letter – in braille, large print, or audio – helps children with a visual impairment to feel part of the magic of Christmas. This year, the campaign introduces Mathilda and Charlie, whose Mum explains the importance of receiving the letter: “To have something that can make Mathilda and Charlie feel more connected will be a huge thing for their self-esteem and confidence."

RNIB has also created ‘The Joy Makers’ Guide to Christmas’– a resource for families and friends to make Christmas accessible and inclusive. It includes ideas for gifts, tactile arts and crafts activities, and hints on making Christmas traditions, like pantomimes or sledging, fun for everyone.    

Shelter

“No child should have to wish for a home but over 131,000 do.” That’s the stark message underlying Shelter’s ’Good As Gold’ campaign this year.

The film (created with Don’t Panic London) shows eight-year old Maddie overhearing that if she’s “good as gold” she’ll get just what she wants for Christmas. She helps neighbours, gives up her seat on a bus, helps her teacher collect up homework.

But on Christmas morning, we see the confusion and crushing disappointment when she wakes up again in cramped, cold, temporary accommodation.  

Shelter estimates that this year over 131,000 children in England will wake up on Christmas day in temporary accommodation – that’s increase of over 10,000 since last year and the record highest ever.

Alzheimer’s Society

Christmas can be extremely challenging for people living with dementia and their loved ones, so much so, that Alzheimer’s Society anticipates receiving over 1600 calls to their helpline in the 12-day run-up to Christmas.

The charity’s campaign video shows how simplicity and honesty can speak volumes. It’s part of the charity’s 12 Days of Christmas campaign, and this pared back, soundtrack-less video shares one family’s experience of dementia.

The campaign highlights the difference that support can make to families affected by dementia, particularly at this time of year, and calls on people to donate or to receive support. Other strands of their festive fundraising include Elf Day, a Christmas raffle and a 12 Crafts of Christmas challenge.