Christmas Charity Appeal: Kate McCann: 'I still buy a Christmas present for Madeleine 11 years after she went missing'

Kate McCann: 'I still buy a Christmas present for Madeleine 11 years after she went missing'









The last Christmas I ever spent with my daughter, Madeleine, is a very vivid memory for me. She was three-years-old then and at nursery had just started to learn some Christmas carols. She also loved doing the accompaniment to Dean Martin’s Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. I can still hear her singing it now. For her present that year we had bought Madeleine (and her younger brother and sister) a kitchen station which we wrapped with a bow and left for her to find when she came downstairs.
I remember seeing her face when she walked in. She was beside herself. She was so excited and got straight to work preparing us all a meal. That was a lovely moment. I have bought a Christmas present for Madeleine every year since then but that toy cooker was the last one I ever saw her open.
In May 2007 she went missing from our rented family holiday apartment in Praia da Luz in Portugal and has never been seen since. This Christmas will be the 11th my husband and I have spent without our daughter. For families like ours who have to live with the agony of a missing child – or indeed any relative – Christmas can be a hugely painful time.


 A family photograph of Madeleine McCann  Credit: PA  
The festive period is a time to be together as a family and for most people is such a happy occasion. That almost expected joy makes it even more difficult for those that are suffering. You learn over time that you simply have to make the best of it and lean upon the support that is out there – wherever it comes from.
It’s impossible to shake off that heaviness ever-present on your chest. But you just have to tryKate McCann
The first Christmas we had after Madeleine went missing I couldn’t do anything. I felt so numb that I couldn’t buy presents or cards or even put up the Christmas tree. It all felt so wrong. In the end somebody else had to do all that and we went and stayed with family elsewhere. Each year I’ve made a bit more effort and we’ve dealt with it as best we can. After all, our other two children who are now 12-years-old deserve a Christmas as well. That doesn’t mean it isn’t hard. Everything is tinged with pain.

That absence is tangible for all our family, the emotion still palpable. It’s impossible to shake off that heaviness ever-present on your chest. But you just have to try. Before Madeleine’s disappearance I had never heard of the charity, Missing People, which The Daily Telegraph is backing in its Christmas Appeal.  My husband Gerry and I stayed in Portugal for months after she had gone, continuing to search in vain.
It was only when we got back that we were properly put in touch by a relative. The work the charity does for families like ours is vital and I am proud to be an ambassador championing their work. Hundreds of thousands of people go missing every year. This is something that affects so many families and it can destroy them.


 Kate and Gerry McCann  Credit: Reuters  
The charity is there every hour of every day. Without them people would be totally lost. The Missing People charity team are simply very normal, genuine, caring people that you could come and have a cup of tea with. I’m sure that’s part of the secret to the charity’s success. We often talk about our missing persons ‘community’, or ‘family’ and every Christmas get together for our annual carol service at St Martin-in-the-fields united in our emotion and hope.

We are all cushioned and supported by the presence of each other. Unless you have experienced what families like ours have it is impossible to describe the anguish of missing a loved one. I know without the support of so many we would not have made it this far. We have found that support in many places. A candle still burns for our daughter in the village and Madeleine and all missing children still get mentioned in prayers at our local church – and in many others I’m sure.
With so many things in the world to pray for just now, we are very grateful for this. At times the pain of losing our daughter has been almost too much to comprehend. You don’t know how strong you are until you have no option. Gerry and I are united in our aim of finding Madeleine and our love of our children and making life as good as possible for them.

It doesn’t mean there aren’t times when things are emotional, testing or strained. But we’ve got through it so far. In spite of how hard the festive season has been for our family over the years our younger children are still really excited about Christmas and that’s lovely to see. I have to remind myself to be cheerful and get into the Christmas spirit with them. I suppose I have learnt over the years that it’s important to have enjoyment yourself too and, more than that, it is OK to try.
In my head I guess I just want everything for be right for her when she comes back home.Kate McCann
You don’t have to feel guilty.  And if there’s one thing I love, it’s real quality time spent with my children; cuddling up on the couch under a throw and watching a DVD together. We do a Christmas stocking for them and also one for Madeleine. The presents I buy for her usually have to jump out at me. She would be a teenager now so I always try and pick something that would be suitable and enjoyable for her no matter what age she is when she gets to open them.

In my head I guess I just want everything for be right for her when she comes back home. The loft is filled with the presents I have bought for Madeleine and her wardrobe, too. Like many families of missing children we have kept her bedroom exactly the same as it was when she disappeared. The irony is I’m sure she wouldn’t want it like that anymore because it’s bright pink.
And in any case if Madeleine was to walk through that door the most important thing is she is with us, not what her bedroom is like or anything else for that matter. But for whatever reason I just can’t bring myself to change it. The police investigation into Madeleine’s disappearance is still active, thankfully, and while it can be incredibly slow and frustrating we continue in hope. That is all we can do. While people gather with their families this weekend and enjoy meals and swap presents together – I would urge them to remember the missing. We must never forget them.
Missing People is a beneficiary of this year’s Telegraph’s Christmas Charity Appeal. To make a donation to this or one of the other charities supported in our appeal, please call 0151 284 1927

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/family/kate-mccann-still-buy-christmas-present-madeleine-11-years-went/


Isn't that photo of Kate at the top the same place where Phankles was filmed with her dubbed voice for the Dossier of Death?

"... She would be a teenager now so I always try and pick something that would be suitable and enjoyable for her no matter what age she is when she gets to open them."

Oops! Surely you mean will be, Kate?

" In May 2007 SHE WENT MISSING " !?!

Oh so she wasn't " abducted " then Kate ?

Kate's article look's like a PR event for "The Missing People"

An open question to you, Ms McCann-Healy..

You and your husband still, after over ten years, believe your daughter Madeleine is alive, well and findable - am I right?

Then pray (no disrespect intended) tell me.  Will there ever come the time when your customary bi-annual spiel or any other form of public address, will actually be about your daughter Madeleine and not about you and your husband?

Have you nothing to say to your daughter?  Don't you want to know how she is;  where she is;  what's she's doing;  if she's safe;  if she's happy;  if she's unhappy;  what she looks like;  what she likes;  what she doesn't like?

Is she suffering;  is she being abused by her abductor/s or loved and cared for by her abductor/s?

Don't you care Ms McCann-Healy?  Don't you want to talk to your daughter 'madeleine' - Ms McCann-Healy?

Humbug!

sandancer wrote:" In May 2007 SHE WENT MISSING " !?!

Oh so she wasn't " abducted " then Kate ?

Kate use the word "missing" this time because it fits better to the organisation she is promoting here, "missing people"
They are using Madeleine for money,marketing, and business and have done that from the beginning.

According to her paternal grandmother Madeleine spent Christmas with her when she was aged two. Kate somehow fails to mention this in her fond memories section of the 2017 message! No surprise really. As Verdi  has pointed out, she is solely concerned, as usual, about how Christmas is for everyone else other than Madeleine. The McCanns have told us time and again that their daughter was snatched by paedophiles to be subjected to abuse, rape and terror. They insist she is still alive, therefore still a sex slave and yet not a word of distress about their daughter's suffering, no message of love to the poor girl. Can anyone seriously imagine a parent who would think "My daughter is still living a life of horror but hey, I'm very involved with "Missing People" and they buoy me up over tea and chats"? Who do they think they are kidding?

"...... and my feet ain't 'alf sore from all that running ......"  Corn-u-copia?

Begs another question - where is Ger all this time.  Just being Ger?

Or at the xmas office party scrubbing-up in the broom cupboard !

'I STILL HOPE'

Kate McCann reveals she buys missing Maddie Christmas presents every year and has not changed her room since the day she vanished


Missing Maddie would be 14-years-old now, with her devastated parents still keeping her bedroom exactly the same as it was when she disappeared
By Brittany Vonow
22nd December 2017, 10:39 pm
Updated: 22nd December 2017, 11:19 pm

MADDIE McCann's mum has revealed she still buys her missing daughter Christmas presents - harbouring hope her girl will return home safe.

Kate McCann revealed that even ten years on, she had kept her daughter's room exactly the same as it was when the tot disappeared, ready for when she came back home.

Writing for the Telegraph in an emotional letter, Kate revealed her family had a tradition of buying a Christmas stocking for her children, including Madeleine who would now be 14-years-old.

She said: "The presents I buy for her usually have to jump out at me.

"She would be a teenager now so I always try and pick something that would be suitable and enjoyable for her no matter what age she is when she gets to open them.

"In my head I guess I just want everything for be right for her when she comes back home. The loft is filled with the presents I have bought for Madeleine and her wardrobe, too."

But she admitted that her daughter, who would be a teenager now, might not like her bedroom being the same bright pink she had loved as a toddler.

She said she had felt "numb" after Maddie went missing while the family was on holidays in Portugal, she said everything now was "tinged with pain" as the family faced their 11th Christmas without their daughter.

In her letter, Kate praised the work of the Missing People charity team, saying they were "genuine, caring" people who had helped her family through the difficult years of Maddie's disappearance.

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/5200154/kate-mccann-buys-maddie-christmas-presents-room/

I wonder what the stocking filler is this year.  An iPhone?  A quad bike?  A Louis Vuitton handbag?  An ouija board?  A pack of tarot cards?  A packet of PG Tips?

Bah humbug!

Another rehash of old news for MSM to coin a few. So the presents are not in Madeleine's room exactly, they are hidden from sight in the loft and wardrobe .....they must be bulging now eh?

aquila wrote:

NickE wrote:

sandancer wrote:" In May 2007 SHE WENT MISSING " !?!

Oh so she wasn't " abducted " then Kate ?

Kate use the word "missing" this time because it fits better to the organisation she is promoting here, "missing people"
They are using Madeleine for money,marketing, and business and have done that from the beginning.

Forgive me if I'm mistaken but didn't you refer to this forum 'over the road' as a sandpit whilst engaging with an obvious troll Sergey Malinka aka doesgaloes (or however two gallons is spelt in Portuguese)?

What does Malinka have to do with Kate's Christmas appeal?
Nothing, move on.

KM can find time, 10 years on, to go buy a present but couldn’t be a*sed at time to search for her “missing” daughter. Shameful

deleted

Verdi wrote:'I STILL HOPE'

Kate McCann reveals she buys missing Maddie Christmas presents every year and has not changed her room since the day she vanished


Missing Maddie would be 14-years-old now, with her devastated parents still keeping her bedroom exactly the same as it was when she disappeared
By Brittany Vonow
22nd December 2017, 10:39 pm
Updated: 22nd December 2017, 11:19 pm

MADDIE McCann's mum has revealed she still buys her missing daughter Christmas presents - harbouring hope her girl will return home safe.

Kate McCann revealed that even ten years on, she had kept her daughter's room exactly the same as it was when the tot disappeared, ready for when she came back home.

Writing for the Telegraph in an emotional letter, Kate revealed her family had a tradition of buying a Christmas stocking for her children, including Madeleine who would now be 14-years-old.

She said: "The presents I buy for her usually have to jump out at me.

"She would be a teenager now so I always try and pick something that would be suitable and enjoyable for her no matter what age she is when she gets to open them.

"In my head I guess I just want everything for be right for her when she comes back home. The loft is filled with the presents I have bought for Madeleine and her wardrobe, too."

But she admitted that her daughter, who would be a teenager now, might not like her bedroom being the same bright pink she had loved as a toddler.

She said she had felt "numb" after Maddie went missing while the family was on holidays in Portugal, she said everything now was "tinged with pain" as the family faced their 11th Christmas without their daughter.

In her letter, Kate praised the work of the Missing People charity team, saying they were "genuine, caring" people who had helped her family through the difficult years of Maddie's disappearance.

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/5200154/kate-mccann-buys-maddie-christmas-presents-room/

I wonder what the stocking filler is this year.  An iPhone?  A quad bike?  A Louis Vuitton handbag?  A ouija board?  A pack of tarot cards?  A packet of PG Tips?

Bah humbug!

I don't believe a word of it

I notice that even in an appeal about Madeleine, to Madeleine, Kate can't resist diminishing her. She remembers Maddie' s last Xmas present as being shared wihlth the twins. Why? Why did she have to share presents? Even if true, I would think this part of the story wouldn't be worth remembering or important. It seems like she is constantly putting Madeleine down. I would have thought at a time when a younger sibling appears on the scene, let alone twins, it would be very important to let the older kid know they are still loved and have their place in the family. Why did she have to share toys? I don't get it. It's not like they're poor.
Again, the appeal is all about Kate and her feelings, it reads very much like the book.

Still keeps her bedroom the same? Haven't they moved house since she 'disappeared'?

No, they moved to Rothley in 2006 and are still there.

Oh dear Kate. Trapped in the prison of your own lie. Wheeled out every year to repeat the same insincere claim, trying to keep a straight face and not gag on the utter duplicity of it all. Trying to remember who Madeleine was, how she is ‘supposed’ to fit in a normal life at Christmas with presents under the tree and knowing all the time now That we the British public KNOW the truth of the lie.
So one day Kate, you will finally have to come clean, Confess that yes she is gone, it was all a hideous cover up and then you and your family can properly grieve for your lost daughter who died in tragic circumstances.
merry Christmas Madeleine. May she one day Rest In Peace.

So 
this year Missing People is the beneficiary of the Telegraphs Christmas charity appeal ( get your donations ready) ...Kate has penned a letter to them with a mix of old and new news as ambassador of Missing People, letting us know that the investigation is still active,Kate as the mother spending quality time with the twins, the annual carol service, her heartbreak, and Madeleine's presents stored in the loft and wardrobe.... and no appeal to any "abductor" 

The last Christmas , shared kitchen toy, new pink fleece and pink travel bag for Madeleine for her holiday? 

Remembering Madeleine ( this was the best one I could find) a little girl lost, frozen in time, a name that's capatilized on over and over,  hopefully one day she will get justice. RIP Sweet child. 

I find it all a bit tiring now , same old same old.  I wish she would put a sock in it and get on her with job in the medical world.  

Glad she has found some time to buy a toy to stash away for  her daughter.   IIRC it wasn't that long ago she was finding it hard to find time for the website.

Phoebe wrote:According to her paternal grandmother Madeleine spent Christmas with her when she was aged two. Kate somehow fails to mention this in her fond memories section of the 2017 message! No surprise really. As Verdi  has pointed out, she is solely concerned, as usual, about how Christmas is for everyone else other than Madeleine. The McCanns have told us time and again that their daughter was snatched by paedophiles to be subjected to abuse, rape and terror. They insist she is still alive, therefore still a sex slave and yet not a word of distress about their daughter's suffering, no message of love to the poor girl. Can anyone seriously imagine a parent who would think "My daughter is still living a life of horror but hey, I'm very involved with "Missing People" and they buoy me up over tea and chats"? Who do they think they are kidding?

When has there ever been more than the briefest show of concern for Madeleine? Virtually all of the last 10+ years has been about them.

Mark Willis wrote:"... She would be a teenager now so I always try and pick something that would be suitable and enjoyable for her no matter what age she is when she gets to open them."

Oops! Surely you mean will be, Kate?

Or "Is a teenager now".  The "would be" means if she was still alive:(.  which KM knows is not true . Stick to your "abduction" theory Kate. If Madeleine was abducted and has come to no harm, then she IS a teenager now.

What exactly is this gift? Is it suitable for her age?

According to previous claims, 11 year old Madeleine would be returning home to gifts suitable for little girls of 4 yrs and up.

Wouldn't the money be better spent on the search? And then shower her with gifts suitable for her age when she returned?

This is just media hype - nothing else makes sense.

maebee wrote:

Mark Willis wrote:"... She would be a teenager now so I always try and pick something that would be suitable and enjoyable for her no matter what age she is when she gets to open them."

Oops! Surely you mean will be, Kate?

Or "Is a teenager now".  The "would be" means if she was still alive:(.  which KM knows is not true . Stick to your "abduction" theory Kate. If Madeleine was abducted and has come to no harm, then she IS a teenager now.

I know we say things in English that can be ambiguous and not necessarily as intended. The 'would be' could be entirely innocent and perhaps slightly bad grammar. But this is Kate. And she knows what happened and cannot help her subconscious dwelling in the past tense. 
Either way, we don't really care what you say or think, Kate, because we are more bothered about MBM than you ever were.