CHRISTMAS has come earlier to one Hampshire market town - very early.

Romsey’s Tourist Information Centre has just opened its Christmas card shop for the festive season, giving residents more than two months to get ahead of the game.

But, they have done so with good reason. The Cards for Good Causes shop will be raising funds for local causes while also helping the festive earlybirds.

Perfect for those who want to get ahead in their Christmas preparations while supporting a range of national and local charities, the shop will offer a fantastic range of cards for all tastes.

The Romsey pop-up shop is part of a network of 300 temporary shops run Cards for Good Causes, the UK’s largest multi-charity Christmas card organisation. It represents more than 250 charities including Cancer Research UK, Barnardo’s, NSPCC, Alzheimer’s Society and RNLI as well as selling cards from a number of local charities including NEW for this year.

Help for Heroes.

Julia West, shop manager for Cards for Good Causes says: “Buying charity Christmas cards is one of the simplest ways to support good causes this festive season. Sales of the cards not only generate funds with which the charities can make a real difference, but also purchasing and sending them helps raise awareness of the vital work these charities do. Come along and find us in Romsey by looking out for our distinctive triangular red Santa sign.”

In the past ten years, charities have received more than £40 million from Cards for Good Causes, representing at least 70p in every pound, out of which charities have had to pay for the production and distribution of their Christmas cards and any VAT.