Langley Christmas Bureau: hampers, toys and how to help

The Langley Christmas Bureau is open for 2026. Families register in person at 20245 Industrial Avenue on weekdays from 10 am to 3:30 pm, and everyone else can drop off new toys, mail a cheque or sign up to sponsor a family. The Bureau is run entirely by volunteers, about a hundred of them a year, and its goal this season is $240,000.

How do I register for a Christmas hamper in Langley?

If you were a client last year, you don’t need to do anything yet: the Bureau emails returning families a date to come in, and phones the ones without email. New families just go to the office any time after November 2 during open hours. Aldergrove families can use the satellite desk at 2900 272 Street instead, but only on Mondays and Wednesdays until December 2.

You have to come yourself, and the Bureau asks that children stay home (a baby in a carrier is fine).

What to bring

All four of these, or you’ll be sent home to get them:

1. Government-issued photo ID.
2. Proof of income. On income assistance: a cheque stub, or two months of bank statements that show the Province of BC deposit. Not on assistance: two months of bank statements plus everything you earned this year, meaning your latest pay stubs from every job, EI statements and any other income.
3. Proof you live in Langley, such as a phone, hydro, gas or cable bill, a rental agreement or mail.
4. A BC Services Card (or CareCard) for every person in the family.

One more condition: you can’t have applied for a Christmas hamper from another agency.

What families get

Every registered family gets food for Christmas dinner, either a hamper delivered by a sponsor or a food voucher from the Bureau, by December 15. Parents of kids up to 12 pick a toy and a book (the books come from the Langley Literary Association), and teens 13 and up get a gift certificate each. All of that is collected at the Industrial Avenue office on Toy Depot Days: December 10, 11, 14 and 15. The Bureau treats the gift certificates like cash, so a lost one isn’t replaced.

Sponsor a family

Sponsors are matched with a registered family (you can ask for a family size and City or Township, though the Bureau fills the biggest needs first), then get in touch with them and deliver a hamper by Monday, December 14. The last day to sign up is Monday, December 7. The sponsor form includes a confidentiality pledge: whatever you learn about your family stays private.

The Bureau’s own guide puts a hamper at roughly $200 to $250 for a family of two, $350 to $450 for four, and $700 or more for seven or more people. Those totals include a grocery gift card ($75, $100 or $125 depending on family size) so the family can buy fresh food closer to the day. Its hamper guidelines suggest staples that suit many kinds of holiday tables, from rice, lentils and chickpeas to potatoes and pancake mix, plus soap and paper towel, and ask that you ask the family what they eat. No home baking, home canning or alcohol.

Donating toys or money

• Toys: new and unwrapped, dropped at 20245 Industrial Avenue during office hours. Go easy on stuffed animals; the Bureau says they’re usually the last things picked because of allergies. Gift certificates are welcome too.
• Gift cards: write the dollar value on the card before you drop it off.
• Cheques: payable to the Langley Christmas Bureau, mailed care of Langley City Hall, 20399 Douglas Crescent, Langley V3A 4B3. The City sets the Bureau up each October and handles its finances.
• Online: through the donate button on the financial donations page.

The easiest one-stop way to give a toy is the Christmas Wish Breakfast on Wednesday, November 25 at Newlands, where a new toy is your ticket to a free breakfast. It’s the Bureau’s biggest fundraiser of the year.

Volunteering

The Bureau runs on four-hour shifts: front desk, sponsor clerk (matching families with sponsors), certificate processing and the toy depot, where “elves” sort toys and help parents choose. Every volunteer needs a criminal record check, and the application is a PDF on the volunteer page. More ideas for the season are in ways to lend a hand at Langley events.

Need help with food the rest of the year? See food banks and free meals in Langley and Langley Meals on Wheels. Other local causes are on our charities and galas page.

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