As the school time starts again, for many parents it also heralds the return of the round of children’s birthday parties. Children’s birthdays can generate a huge amount of presents, many of which will end up at the bottom of the toy box and are rarely played with. Some parents, especially as they hear the appeals from charities for money to help the desperate situation in Pakistan, are especially sickened by this and would love to be able to do something about it. Oxfam Ireland’s Pass the Present scheme ticks all the boxes in doing something about this. It works as follows; as the parent of the birthday girl/boy, you ask just a few of the guests to make a donation to Oxfam Ireland instead of buying a present. (All other guests buy a gift as normal. ) Oxfam Ireland then send the birthday child a lovely Puzzle Pack. Everything you need is available on http://www.oxfamireland.org/passthepresent