Christmas Market
Thursday, 11th December, I decided to tag along with the other year 10 charity workers and experience the annual Christmas Market in the eyes of a reporter. I took a tour round the whole event, tasting foods and drinks, playing fun games, donating to charities and interviewing
guests.
At 3pm, all of the preparations started. Each class put together their own stall and each charity set up their own little space to advertise their campaigns. A room at the back was set up for all the primary and infant classes, with a couple of stalls in the reception for charities such as Amnesty International and the school lottery. Outside, the rest of the stalls were set up in rows. Coming out on the left were the food and drink stalls and on the right all the guest charity stalls.
Most of the primary school stalls were games. A couple of classes did a lucky dip whereas others did games like knock down the cans. There was a guess the teacher, a spin the wheel, a face-painting stall, some science-type games and even a Santa to take pictures with.
On the outside were most of the food stalls. Some people sold crepes (a cold weather tradition), others sold hot chocolate and one even sold candyfloss and fresh popcorn. The Amnesty stall had a knock the cans down game where each can was a human right but they also sold home-made cookies and panettones. Whereas the guest charity stalls tended to sell items like ornaments, pillows and books. The United World Schools’ stall sold DIY mugs and also food.
To me, the most successful stalls were probably the food stalls because they managed to create large queues and it’s the perfect way to make money at this time of year.
The highest point of the market had to be the school lottery. People queued up to put their names on numbers and by halfway through the afternoon, the board was full. At the end of the market, everyone gathered round as members of staff called out names with winning prizes. A total of 30 prizes were given out. A few people went home with several prizes.
I interviewed a couple of mothers who were representing charities to give us a few thoughts:
Q: Good afternoon. What is your name?
A: Donatella
Q: Nice name. What do you think of this event?
A: Very nice, there’s a lot of people here tonight. A lot of both parents and kids. The set up was also very easy as the high school volunteers were very helpful.
Q: Is it your first time?
A: Yes, yes!
Q: What does your charity do exactly?
A: Hope is a charity that helps women and children. A home in Israel was built a few years ago but it was recently bombed and this charity is trying to bring it back with projects all over Italy.
Q: Wow! Thank you very much for your co-operation and good afternoon!
A: Thanks to you too! Bye!
*
Q: First of all, what is your name?
A: My name is Giulia and I am the representative for year 5c.
Q: What do you think of this event?
A: I think it’s nice. Lots of people here, which means lots of money to be raised and I think it’s a great initiative.
Q: What does this charity do?
A: It’s the only charity for animals here today. It helps out stray
dogs and cats and this year we were able to get a spot for them as
well.
Q: What do you think could help make the Christmas market better?
A: I think more charities should be able to sell here. Maybe widen the variety like old people, animals or even nature.
Q: What have you got for us today?
A: We offer long-distance adoptions for homeless cats and dogs, we sell calendars and cards in the theme of cats and dogs and even second-hand toys donated from the public.
Q: Nice! Thank you very much for your time. Bye!
A: Thanks to you too! Have a nice afternoon!
Overall, this event was a total winner and was definitely one of the best Christmas Markets the school has seen.
