Jennifer Cunningham on charity cards and gifts

THE simplest way to spread goodwill beyond immediate family and

friends at Christmas is to buy gifts and cards from charities -- and

buying direct from specific charities usually ensures they get a larger

percentage of your money than, for example, buying charity cards in

stationery chains.

This year more good causes than ever have mail order catalogues

carrying a range that is usually more extensive than available in their

shops.

The biggest is Oxfam, with more than 300 items mostly handmade by

crafts people from the developing world or disabled people in the UK. It

has something for everyone from tiddly tennis (tiddly winks to tennis

rules over a green felt mat) at #9.99 to handwoven carpets and rugs,

including a geometric design in wool by Tibetan weavers working in India

at #325. Oxfam Trading, Murdock Road, Bicester, Oxon OX 6 7RF.

Amnesty International investigates and protects people throughout the

world who have been imprisoned for their race, sex, language, culture,

or simply for expressing an opinion. A modest #1.60 buys a candle

printed with Amnesty International while a pair of silver earrings or

cufflinks each in the form of a single forget-me-not flower by jeweller

Theo Fennell is a #175 expression of principle and hope. 99-119 Rosebery

Avenue, London, EC1R 4RE.

The speciality of the Ethiopian Gemini Trust is delicate silver

jewellery hand crafted by the parents of destitute families with twins

in Addis Ababa. The range includes earrings, brooches, pendants, and

bracelets from about #6 to #20 -- exceptionally good value following the

recent devaluation of the Ethiopian birr. EGT Scotland, 32 Glasgow Road,

Blanefield, Glasgow G63 9BP.

The Marie Curie Christmas catalogue has a special Scottish edition for

people who want to support the work of the organisation's 908 nurses in

Scotland. Gifts range from a teddy bear nurse and patient at #9.99 to a

gold chocolate bar at #7.95 to a cane chair at #69.95 plus specialist

gifts for golfers and gardeners. 21 Rutland Street, Edinburgh, EH1 2AH.

Another way of spending your money close to home is through Glasgow

Museums which have a mail order catalogue in addition to the various

museum shops. Its boldest idea is a T-shirt printed with a Degas or Dali

(#15.95 for those who dare to wear Christ of St John on the Cross across

their chests), the pretty and practical include stationery from textile

designs and paintings in the collections, Mackintosh designs on

jewellery, scarves, and picture frames and a stunning shawl whose iris

design is taken from Japanese hand-made paper. Glasgow Museums

commercial office, Museum of Transport, Kelvin Hall, G3 8DP.

The Royal National Lifeboat Institution offers a number of nautical

items among a wide range of gifts from a Columbus Quincentenary

commemorative mug at #5.99 to a folding canvas ''commodore's'' chair

featuring an anchor or signal flags at #39.95. RNLI (sales) Ltd, West

Quay Road, Poole, Dorset. BH 15 1HZ. The anti-fur Lynx group offers

non-animal alternatives to traditional gifts such as vegan chocolates at

#4.25 a box as well as footwear in ''the finest non-leather material''

-- a blend of man-made fibres. Lynx Merchandise, PO Box 509 Dunmow,

Essex, CM6 1UH.