I'm not a big internet shopper but always seem to be running out for the same things last minute - birthday cards, wrapping paper and kids' presents - in a panic these days. Maybe surfing the net doesn't have to feel so soulless, especially if your kids are so desperate for a pet that even adopting a chicken brings grateful gasps.
Much as I like the idea of painstakingly matching child to gift, I must confess to a little recent stockpiling - almost forgiveable since I've discovered the Oxfam ethical online shop. Now I've got my own mini-boutique in a cardboard box under my desk to dip into each time a fairy or pirate invite comes through the door. My loot includes wind- up head torches, handmade wooden apple bird-feeders, recycled plastic Frisbees, cress-growing kits and robot key-rings - along with handmade fairtrade cards and wrapping paper. I felt very domestic-goddess smug for about five minutes, until I realised we'd run out of milk and bread...again.
For older kids, I'm tempted by the whale-watching experiences, or a meerkat encounter - and a two-man tent!
Back in the real world, I'll be manning a stall at Oxfam's pop-up Curiosity Shop (Annie Lennox's sweet dream of a fundraiser - basically the most glamorous thrift-shop ever), at Selfridges Ultralounge this Thursday. A treasure trove of one-of a kind finds has found a home there 'til Friday. The kids can feed the birds and grow their cress, but I've got my eye on Livia Firth's Green Carpet dresses. Maybe I'll get a tea (and shopping!) break…
The launch was a low-key and laid-back affair, with guests lounging on beanbags - the opposite of a stuffy black-tie do - and, most importantly, raised £137,000. (Impossible not to bid after watching Sam Roddick's brilliant and devastating film on the Congo.) The queue went round the block outside Selfridges the next morning so I hope they're saving some stock for my shift on Thursday. Maybe I should bring a few frocks with me!
Annie Lennox turned herself into a human jukebox for the evening with guests paying £2,000 a song. I surrendered to bittersweet nostalgia, thinking of every boy I kissed in the Nineties…or wanted to. I think everyone in the room had a tear in their eye, or a shiver up their spine, or both. What a woman. Songs and magical thinking - and quite a few frocks - for Oxfam.
www.oxfam.org.uk/curiosityshop
