The wishes on this year's Christmas tree in Aachen's town hall were once again varied: craft kits, sports equipment, puzzles and cuddly toys. The Christmas wishes came from children and young people of different ages who live in Aachen's child and youth welfare facilities. Lord Mayor Sibylle Keupen has now presented the finished packages to the facilities. "The willingness of society to support the children and young people is enormous. This is shown once again by the many presents that have been handed in and now make a splendid picture under our Christmas tree. The colorful packaging, the different sizes and shapes of the gifts also reflect the diversity of the wishes," Keupen said enthusiastically at the handover.

Fulfilling wishes for a good cause
From November 22, anyone interested was able to choose and fulfill one of 317 children's wishes. After just six days, all the wish lists had disappeared from the tree - in the weeks that followed, dedicated donors fulfilled the Christmas wishes of the children and young people from the facilities of the Evangelical Child and Youth Welfare Center Brand, the Maria im Tann Center for Child, Youth and Family Welfare and the Burtscheid Center for Social Work. This year, the many "Christmas elves" had until 13 December to return the Christmas-wrapped presents with the corresponding wish list to the town hall.

"A big thank you to the many hard-working hands and the great commitment of the citizens and employees at the town hall. The wish list campaign is a great opportunity to present our facility to the public," emphasized Burkhard Büttgen, pedagogical director of the Burtscheid Centre for Social Work. A total of 304 wish granters returned their gifts - 13 gifts were therefore missing. However, some citizens who were unable to get hold of a wish list donated a sum of 395 euros. Employees of the City of Aachen used this donation to buy the missing presents so that no wish remained unfulfilled. Special mention should be made of an 8th grade class from Baesweiler secondary school, which decided not to do the Secret Santa together this year and donated 177 euros instead. Many gift-givers also took the opportunity to write personal Christmas cards or add another gift to the actual wish - for example, something to snack on.

Nico, 13 years old, wished for a soccer, for example. The telltale shape of the gift suggests that this wish will come true. Mariana, seven years old, dreams of a large duck sleeping pillow and Romav, also 13 years old, can look forward to a black thermos flask.

A nice present for everyone
Sibylle Keupen presented the gifts, which were decorated with ribbons, cards and bows, to the sponsors of the three institutions. Each facility also received a further cheque for 500 euros for their valuable work and 55 euros (remaining donation amount) in cash for cookies for the Christmas party. "All the donors who fulfill the wishes of the children and young people show that We live cohesion in Aachen!", summed up Denis Thielen, Managing Director of Maria im Tann.

Hard-working helpers are now loading the presents and driving them to the children's and youth facilities so that every child can look forward to a Christmas present on Christmas Eve. As is the case every year, the many dedicated wish fulfillers have made children's eyes light up on Christmas Eve.