Public urged to buy Christmas gifts for Third World

Oxfam Ireland is calling on the public to buy alternative Christmas presents designed to aid the Third World this year.

The organisation said today that much of the money spent at Christmas every year is wasted on unimaginative and unwanted gifts.

It said a survey it conducted found that three quarters of people receive at least one present that they do not want at Christmas.

Oxfam Ireland's website allows people to buy items like livestock or cooking stoves for families in the Third World as an alternative to the traditional gift-wrapped present.