THE QUEANBEYAN community is showing off its generous spirit with hundreds of gift donated to make Christmas a little merrier for those less fortunate.
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More than 100 presents and gift cards have been donated at the local Target store for Uniting Care's Operation Santa project.
A further 386 donations have been placed under Kmart's Wishing Tree and will be passed on to the Salvation Army for distribution.
Target sales assistant Lucy Sokic said the response from staff members and the public to the annual initiative has been overwhelming.
"Before the Operation Santa tree was even up we already had customers asking us about it.
"It's really good, everyone gets right into it," she said.
"You get some customers donating 10, 20 gifts at a time. It is a very generous community.
"The people of Queanbeyan are very giving and friendly."
The gifts remain in the local community and will be delivered to Queanbeyan families.
"Christmas isn't just a time for receiving it's really nice to give especially for those in our community who are less fortunate," Mrs Sokic said.
"There's a lot of people out there who are doing it tough ... not everyone talks about it but it affects everybody."
Community members can purchase gift cards and donate presents to Target's Operation Santa and the Kmart Wishing tree until Tuesday, December 24.
The public is encouraged to bring their own presents; they do not have to be purchased at the stores.
