Christmas in a Shoebox
Weihnachtspäckchen für Kinder in Not
Our school participates every year in the charitable event known “Christmas in a Shoebox" (Weihnachtspäckchen für Kinder in Not). The goal of this campaign is to collect Christmas gifts for children in need, who otherwise would not get any presents at all. The organization Kinderzukunft collects the parcels to be distributed to the beneficiaries.
Kinderzukunft is an established organization in Germany and it supports around 70,000 children in need in countries such as Romania, Bosnia Herzegovina, and the Ukraine. The packages are distributed to orphanages, hospitals, schools, and poor areas. For most of these children, this present might be the only one they receive for Christmas.
You can watch the way of the collected Christmas presents of 2019 here.
You can find the happy children’s photos of 2019 here.
During the collection we ensure compliance with all the Covid measures and with the Hygiene Plan of the school. Further instructions will be clarified in this regard by the school and communicated to you afterwards.
We start the collection of the presents this year on 30 November 2020. As soon as the Christmas trees are put up in the school, your children can place their presents under them. Because of the pandemic situation, parents are not allowed to enter the school.
The presents will be picked up from the school on 11 December 2020.
How to Pack a Shoebox?
- Get an empty medium sized shoebox (maximum size: 37,5 x 30,0 x 13,5 cm) and fill it with a selection of fun toys, hygiene items and school supplies and clothes. If possible, include one or two special items you know a child will love such as a doll, toy trucks or cuddly toy.
- If you don’t have a shoebox you can buy DHL parcel (size M) at the post office.
- Personalize your shoebox by including a handwritten note, a handmade Christmas card or a photograph of yourself, or your family. (Please write in English!)
- Wrap your shoebox in wrapping paper.
- Download and print the appropriate boy/girl/neutral label. (Also attached.)
- You can find the GIRL LABEL here.
- You can find the BOY LABEL here.
- You can find the NEUTRAL LABEL here.
- Mark on your label if your gift is for a boy or a girl and select an age category on your label: 0-6, 7-12 or 13-18. (Please be aware that most of the children are 6 to 12 years old.)
- Attach the label to the top of your shoebox.
- Send your shoebox with your child to the school between 30 November and 10 December. She/he may leave it in the foyer of the school building under the Christmas tree.
What to pack and what not in your shoebox?
Please watch our video or check our help on our website.
You can find the FAQ of the Kinderzukunft here.
Do you have any questions?
- Official website of the campaign is
- General information regarding the Corona virus and the campaign is here.
- E-mail: hecz-tome@esfparents.org
Last year we collected more than 700 gifts. Why don’t we try to collect even more this year?