On 27 December, the volunteers of the Green Sun Association celebrated Christmas for the thirteenth time with a special initiative: a joint eco-gift programme. The aim of the event was for volunteers to not only express their love and bond among themselves, but also to spread the message of sustainability and healthy living. Photos from the event are available on the Green Sun Association’s Facebook page.

Volunteers had been brainstorming and planning how to create unique and eco-friendly gifts for each other for weeks before the event. With a wide range of talents in the community, the planning process included DIY (do it yourself) methods, recycled materials and healthy ingredients. Some made surprising reuses of old newspaper pages, while others created unique ornaments from colourful pieces of fabric, glass and wood. Simple but creative gifts were made, and even homemade scones were present; everyone brought their own uniqueness to their creations.

The evening was made even more uplifting by the guitar performance of ESC volunteer Mustafa Erol from the Be Active Be Green project in Turkey and the appropriate vocals of Aysenur Bayram, also from Turkey. This was followed by Aysenur’s presentation on eco-Christmas; what gifts to make, how to take care of our environment even in winter, how to be environmental minimalists, etc. A nice Christmas atmosphere was created during the evening, where volunteers could share gifts with each other. After the gift-giving, the evening ended with board games.

We asked a long-standing and active member, Adrienne Harai, how she had spent Christmas together:

Rebeka Barti: How did you feel on the evening and what was your favourite moment?

Adrienn Harai. For me, the best moment of the evening was waiting and seeing what we had prepared for each other. It’s curious to see how the person I’ve drawn feels when they open the gift I’ve made. But perhaps most exciting is seeing what I get. More and more interesting gifts were made, showing the creativity and spirit of the volunteers.

B.R.: Why do you think this type of community initiative is important?

H.A.: I think that Christmas in today’s world has shifted to buying as big and as beautiful a gift as possible for our loved ones, but in the process we have forgotten to put our feelings, our love towards the other person. By making gifts for each other and not buying them, we give them more attention. This brings to the fore our inward focus on the other.

This eco-gifting not only fostered creativity, but also a sense of sustainability and community. It was a successful attempt on the part of the association to make Christmas not only a time of joy and gift-giving, but also a time of sustainability and community. The participants all enjoyed the event and hope to further foster a sense of community and ecological awareness through similar initiatives in the future.