Trans Secret Santa UK delivers festive joy to record number of trans+ youth

This year's Trans Secret Santa UK is delivering festive joy to a record number of trans+ youth, with nearly 900 trans+ young people supported by the project for 2025.

The community project by Trans+ Solidarity Alliance, now in its third year, has seen a record-breaking number of signups at the end of an especially tough year for the UK trans community. Volunteer elves transformed an East London office building into Santa’s workshop over the weekend - packing and shipping a record 896 festive gift packages for trans and gender diverse young people, smashing Trans Secret Santa UK’s previous record of 700 gifts sent in 2023.

Trans joy was abundant amid piles of boxes and presents, with 37 volunteers working hard to deliver for trans youth this festive season. Gifts included items like goods donated from major brands like Lush and Ben & Jerry's, books sourced from The Common Press CIC, and hundreds of other items sourced from independent queer and trans creators. 

The initiative, open to trans+ people under 25, was supported by a number of trans icons coming together to sign a card with messages of hope and solidarity, including Ella Morgan, Abigail Thorn, Jasmine.4.T, Danielle St James, Zelah Glasson, Munroe Bergdorf and Airyn De Niro.

This year’s record demand of nearly 900 trans and gender diverse young people signing up comes after a horrific year for the UK trans community; facing healthcare restrictions, a proposed bathroom ban, restrictions on joining youth groups like Girl Guiding, and controversial new schools guidance. 

Trans Secret Santa UK co-founder Octavian Starr (he/him) said: "It's a privilege to be able to bring joy and messages of hope to trans youth after what has been a horrible year for them and for all of us. The winter period can be especially difficult for young trans people, a lot of whom can feel really isolated, and supporting almost 900 people with joyful festive gifts will hopefully bring some cheer to the end of the year for many."

“Having worked professionally with young trans people for over a decade, I've seen the profound impact of negativity on their lives - so it's really important to be able to show some meaningful support to so many of them this winter.

“To be a trans young person in the UK in 2025 has been, for so many, an experience of feeling fearful and alone. With increasingly extreme anti-trans politics and policies becoming mainstream in this country, it falls on all of us to support each other and bring community and love against the odds.  

"Thank you to everyone who donated and helped us raise the money to meet this year’s huge demand, all the businesses who supported the project, all those public figures who signed the card, and every individual who made this possible. Working with all our amazing volunteers to pack these hundreds of gifts in Santa’s workshop has been a real beacon of hope in a dark year for us all."

Co-founder Jude Guaitamacchi (they/them) added: “The message I really want to send to trans youth is that your authenticity is your superpower, a light that helps others find themselves in the dark. Remember that the most powerful thing you can do, in a world that tells you who to be, is to unapologetically be who you are.”