Christmas Shopping

2012

To find out details of your local shop's Christmas shopping event, contact the shop team.

91 Dumbarton Road

We're hosting our 15th annual Christmas extravaganza!

Once again the area around 91 Dumbarton Road in Glasgow will be awash with eager festive bargain hunters on Thursday 15 November 2012 as Salvation Army Trading Company’s flagship charity shop hosts its annual Christmas shopping extravaganza.

Staff and volunteers from the shop have been saving the best festive fashions, toys, furniture and household goods from donations received throughout the year, ready to be displayed for the first time at the event, which runs from 6pm–8pm.

The shop will be closed throughout the day to allow staff and volunteers to create their famous festive displays, although queues usually begin forming outside from early in the morning as shoppers vie to be the first through the doors when they open at 6pm.

This is the 15th year the event has been held and in 2011 it raised an impressive £13,000 in just two hours. Manager Denise Waterson says the event’s growing popularity demonstrates how people are increasingly looking for ways to make Christmas more affordable without missing out on anything: “The beauty of an event like this is that people can really get into the spirit of Christmas shopping and enjoy the buzz of picking out presents for loved ones or purchasing a party dress – without having to spend a fortune. Whether you’re a regular charity shopper or looking for new ways to cut down on the cost of Christmas we’d encourage everyone to pop along. The atmosphere’s always fantastic and many of our customers tell us that they know Christmas has really started when we hold our extravaganza! It’s not just Christmas gifts and clothes that will be on sale for the first time – we’ve also been keeping back some fabulous furniture and homewares that could give your home an inexpensive lift in time for the festive season.”

This year, the team are particularly excited about the donation of a luxury ‘And So To’ bed, originally worth over £3,000. Due to the high level of interest there is a silent auction running whereby visitors to the shop can drop their bids into a box along with their phone number any time between now and 15 November. The winner of the auction will be announced on 16 November. The bed is described as white and in a ‘shabby chic’ shaker style, and can currently be viewed in the shop window.

2011

All of our shops are hosting special events to launch their Christmas stock this year. With the exception of Blantyre (10am-5pm on Sat 12 November), Cambuslang (5pm-8pm on Thu 24 November) and of course our legendary 91 Dumbarton Road shop in Glasgow (see below) all shops will be launching their Christmas shopping events from 9am on Thursday 17 November. Come along and see our shops transformed into Winter Wonderlands and have your first chance to get your hands on the special festive fashions and gifts that our teams have been saving up all year.

91 Dumbarton Road

Our legendary Christmas extravaganza is back!

Our charity shop at 91 Dumbarton Road will be closed in the morning to allow the team to transform the store into a Christmas wonderland ahead of the launch of its festive fashion and gift ranges at 6pm.

Manager Denise Waterson and her team of staff and volunteers have been saving the best Christmas party wear, books, toys, music, furniture and household goods from donations received throughout the year, ready to be displayed for the first time on the night. At last year’s event the shop raised over £13,000 in just two hours and queues are expected to build from early in the morning, with eager Christmas shoppers keen to have first pick of the festive bargains.

Denise says: “Shoppers are invited to join the festivities between 6pm and 8pm as we celebrate the start of Christmas with the launch of our special Christmas stock. We’re going to have some fabulous items on sale at very reasonable prices – perfect for people hoping to bag a bargain this Christmas.

“Those who might be looking for an alternative to high street prices can come along and get their entire Christmas shop done including presents for their loved ones, an outfit for the Christmas party and some fillers for that all important Christmas stocking.”

Bargain hunters that can’t hold out for the evening shopping extravaganza can visit one of SATCoL’s two other central Glasgow stores at 444 Dumbarton Road and 433 Victoria Road for the launch of their own festive fashion and gift ranges from 9am the same day (Thursday 17 November).

Profits from SATCoL’s shops are gifted-aided to The Salvation Army to help fund its work throughout Scotland and the rest of the UK. Homelessness services, family tracing, professional addictions services and elderly care are just some of the valuable services provided by the charity.

2010

Salvation Army Trading Company Ltd’s (SATCoL) Dumbarton Road charity shop in Glasgow is celebrating after making over £13,000 at its famous Christmas shopping extravaganza held on Thursday (18 November).

Hundreds of shoppers queued outside the 91 Dumbarton Road shop all eager to be first through the doors to bag some of the fabulous bargains on sale at the prestigious Christmas shopping evening.

Staff and volunteers transformed the store into a Christmas wonderland for the event, bringing out all the special stock they’d been saving up throughout the year. The never-before-seen items, all of which have been donated, included festive party wear, books, toys, music and the store’s particular specialism, furniture. 

Shop manager Denise Waterson says that the annual Christmas launch is one of her favourite days of the year:

“Our Christmas shopping evening has become legendary in Glasgow and this year was no exception. It was exhausting but exhilarating! We attracted hundreds of shoppers all eager to pick up a bargain and the event was a real success – the tills rang even louder than last year!”

“We spend the best part of 12 months saving up our favourite Christmassy items including lovely gifts and sparkly party outfits so that the shop’s full of festive bargains on the day. It’s always lots of fun decorating the shop and choosing how to display the stock we’ve saved,” added Denise. “We get people coming back year after year having saved their Christmas money just for this event, as well as lots of new customers who want to see what it’s all about – it just gets bigger and better each time which is great for us as it means more money raised for The Salvation Army.”

Profits from the SATCoL shop are gifted-aided to The Salvation Army to help fund its work throughout Scotland and the rest of the UK. Homelessness services, family tracing, professional addictions services and elderly care are just some of the valuable services provided by the charity.

91 Dumbarton Road, Partick, Glasgow, G11 6PW

2009

In 2009, Salvation Army Trading Company's Dumbarton Road shop in Glasgow celebrated after making an amazing £13,000 in just two hours at its Christmas shopping evening held on Thursday, November 19th.

Hundreds of shoppers queued in the pouring rain to get the opportunity to shop in the bargain packed store.

In 2008 the shop, which specialises in furniture but also has a selection of clothing and bric-a-brac, made £10,000 during its Christmas shopping evening but the tills rang even louder last year, despite the tough economic conditions.

Shop manager Denise Waterson says: "Despite the atrocious weather we attracted hundreds of shoppers and the event was a real hit. It was exhausting but exhilarating! People always love a bargain, especially when times are tough and this year has proved that more than ever."