Here at the Recorder we’ve been getting into the Christmas spirit by interviewing Santa at the Mercury Mall and filming children singing carols.

So we were delighted by the response to our appeal for donations for Havering’s homeless this Christmas.

Hundreds of gifts of toiletries, non-perishable food and clothing were given for charity Hope4Havering and stored for free at Access Self Storage Romford.

They will now be handed out to the borough’s rough sleepers via Hope4Havering’s night shelters.

So thank you all for your generosity – it will make a huge difference to the homeless.

We were also impressed by the story of Charley Ann who has been collecting gifts for the families made homeless by the terrible Grenfell Tower tragedy in west London.

Charley lost her own home to fire 10 years ago and so knows first hand the difficulties and trauma of losing everything you own and having to start again with nothing.

She volunteers with a charity which is holding a Christmas party for families from Grenfell Tower.

We should all spare a thought this weekend for those families trying to rebuild their lives.

Meanwhile, many Havering residents have been frustrated by the gifts they have ordered from Amazon for loved ones not turning up.

This week, about 25 opened boxes were found dumped by the side of the road in Upminster (see the story on page 7).

While Amazon is quick to send out replacements so that no one should be without the presents they ordered, it is inconvenient and some delivery driver is getting away with the theft of hundreds of pounds worth of items. Most of us would hope that Amazon also take action to identify this thief.

Finally, I’d like to wish all our readers and advertisers a happy Christmas and prosperous New Year.