THIS is the time of year when dozens of organisations hold their Christmas bazaars.

It is an excellent opportunity for them to raise much-needed cash for their funds and for their customers to pick up a bargain Christmas gift for family and friends.

In 1961 actor Ian Carmichael made the first purchase – a jar of ginger from Mrs Cortesio – at the fourth annual bazaar at the Oxford Centre for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.

The actor was starring in Critic’s Choice, a comedy at the New Theatre, at the time.

Scouts organised a Christmas sale and model exhibition in SS Mary and John Church hall in East Oxford in 1963. 

John King needed plenty of puff when he was called in to blow up balloons for a bazaar at the Old Fire Station in 1983.

The event was in aid of Oxford Pro Musica, Oxford’s professional orchestra, of which John was manager.

There was plenty of Christmas fare on offer – and no lack of customers – at the home help service bazaar in the Gladiator Hall in Iffley Road, Oxford, in 1972.

Nicola Bush, two, in Picture 6, may not have been able to keep out the cold with her unusual hat, but it was certainly eye-catching.

She was one of many visitors at a bazaar organised by the Cystic Fibrosis Research Trust at Quarry Village Hall at Headington, Oxford, in 1981.

There was plenty to see and do, with various stalls, handicraft stands and refreshments. The event raised more than £100 for the trust.

The cake stall proved to be one of the most popular at the Salvation Army Christmas fair at the Army Citadel in St Ebbe’s, Oxford, in 1958.

More than 100 people attended a bazaar which raised £72 for the People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals (PDSA), based in George Street, Oxford, in 1963.

Mrs M Foster is seen in Picture 8 showing necklaces to a customer at her stall.