Nicole Richie is All Wrapped Up

Nicole Richie keeps her baby bump under wraps as she stocks up on wrapping paper at a party store in West Hollywood, Calif. on Sunday (the eve of Christmas Eve). Boyfriend Joel Madden of Good Charlotte fame accompanied the mom-to-be.

The baby’s due sometime next month and is rumored to be a boy. That’s only a few weeks away. Maybe less!

In follow-up to their launch earlier this month of the Richie-Madden Children’s Foundation (RMCF), Nicole and Joel hosted a holiday party last week for hundreds of children and their families from Beyond Shelter.

“It’s hard to believe there are so many homeless families on the streets in our own neighborhoods,” said Nicole. “Estimates are that 25,000 families with 75,000 children are homeless in Los Angeles each year, and it’s getting worse. So it was a no-brainer for us to pull this party together for them for the holidays.”

The children enjoyed a fun-filled day at Paramount Studios surrounded by teddy bears, cookies, cupcakes, face-painting, balloon clowns, holiday music, Santa Claus, elves, presents and more.

“When Nicole and I learned that Los Angeles has the highest number of homeless people in the country, we knew we had to do something to help,” said Joel. “Shelters in Los Angeles are full, which means homeless families have to sleep in their cars, ride buses all night or stay with their children in fast-food restaurants because they have nowhere else to go.”

“We want to do much more to address the homeless issue, especially where it puts children at risk,” Nicole added. “But for now, we can at least try to help them have a merry Christmas by giving them teddy bears and getting them fitted for shoes. That’s something we can do right now, today.”