Cancer Research UK is to launch a national press campaign encouraging people to mark celebrations with donations to charity rather than gifts to friends.

The campaign, named 'Give in Celebration', is the expansion of a campaign the charity has been running since 2005 which focused on wedding gifts. This new incarnation of the campaign sees the charity covering a wider range of special occasions including birthdays, christenings, wedding anniversaries and retirements.

It includes an A5 insert targeted at consumer newspapers including The Daily Mail, Woman and Good Housekeeping.

The insert is designed to resemble a birthday card and provides information on how to set up your own personalised, charitable webpage.

Sarah Pickersgil, senior marketing manager at Cancer Research UK, said: "Birthdays, weddings and anniversaries are times for celebration and for giving presents, but they also provide an opportunity to do something generous and thoughtful at the same time - contributing to the fight against cancer.

“Give in Celebration provides the perfect alternative gift option," she added.

The campaign will begin tomorrow (22 January).