It’s already Christmas at Bosies charity shop in Aberdeen, despite store being due to shut in October

An Aberdeen charity shop that is closing its doors for the final time at the end of October is getting into the festive spirit early by turning the store into a Christmas grotto.

Bosies Breast Cancer Charity was set up by breast cancer survivor Maggie Lenahan and her daughter Debbie Hamilton, with the shop in the city’s Justice Street opening in August 2010.

In July, it was announced that the charity shop would close down due to the impact of Covid-19 and the rent of the three units being no longer sustainable.

However, before shutting the doors for the final time, the charity has decided to spread a final sprinkling of festive cheer – despite closing two months before Christmas Day.

Val Morrison, who is Bosies’ fundraiser and shop volunteer, came up with the idea of putting up Christmas decorations to wipe away the gloom from the closure.

She said: “We’re just taking up all our things that we have in our basement and all of our Christmas stock and we just decided to do a Christmas grotto with Christmas decorations.

“It’s amazing the amount of people that’s coming in to buy them.”

Bringing cheer to customers

Despite the sadness of the shop closing, Mrs Morrison said that the Christmas theme is making people happy, with customers appreciating the early festive look.

She said: “Everyone that comes in says it’s just so nice to see and brings a lot of cheer,” although she acknowledges that it is “sad” to see it closing, calling it a “fantastic charity”.

Despite the store closing, Bosies will continue as a charity, with founder and shop manager Maggie Lenihan saying that they will still be open for collections and donations.

She said: “We’ll still be around for that, the charity itself will not be deregistered, it’s just the shops that will close.”

Discussing the festive look of the store, Mrs Lenihan said the decorations are “bonnie”.

A breast cancer survivor of 26 years, Mrs Lenahan said the shop closing is a “bittersweet” moment, but has vowed to run the charity for “as long as possible”.

Everything in the store is up for sale and Bosies will be hosting their last fundraiser before the shop closes at the Beach Ballroom on Sunday October 16 with Tommy Dean and the Legends performing.