It’s the most wonderful time of the year

Sitting on the sofa snugly wrapped inside a warm blanket, eating home-made biscuits and sipping some punch. The windowpanes are misted up; outside the landscape is dusted with snow, and the air is crisply, bracingly cold. On the opposite side of the room stands the colourfully decorated Christmas tree, and on the TV there’s a rather sentimental (but all the more enjoyable for that) Christmas film. Under the tree are piles of presents that all of us have brought along for our nearest and dearest, and the whole family gathers together. That’s my idea of Christmas – one of my favourite festivals in the year.

As a child, I wrote my wish list weeks (if not months) before Christmas Eve and placed it on the terrace together with a glass of milk and a few biscuits for Santa. One of my Christmas highlights every year was, when the letter had been taken away and half of the biscuits and milk had been eaten and drunk. (Yes, perhaps Santa and my dad formed a sort of alliance there.) But nothing could beat the moment in which our bell was rung and on Christmas Eve I was allowed into the living room to our Christmas tree. And yes, of course: above all, to the presents! All these are memories from my childhood, indelibly imprinted in my recollections.

But not everybody is lucky enough to spend Christmas like this, and not every child gets to enjoy a decorated tree surrounded by presents. So I’m all the more delighted that with Krones I can now take part in an initiative dedicated to conjuring up shining eyes and beaming smiles on the faces of as many children as possible at Christmas. So this year, too, the Krones Santa (in an alliance with the Regensburg District Office) has once again hung on our Christmas trees in various facilities lots of wish slips from children who perhaps would otherwise not receive any presents. At the facilities in Neutraubling, Nittenau, and at Syskron and System Logistics, a total of no fewer than 640 cards have been distributed. Our facilities in Rosenheim and Flensburg, too, have launched their own initiatives. And set themselves to make an additional 250 children’s wishes come true. Santa will this year then be bringing the many and varied presents (ranging from a Lego set to a cooking pot and a toothbrush, there was really something for everyone) for Regensburg’s children to the Kallmünz and Hemau children’s homes, the St. Vincent Children’s Centre, the Family Workshop in Regensburg, to the various branches of the Thomas Wiser House and to more than 100 foster children. Thus hopefully giving all of them a truly happy Christmas.

The initiative has meanwhile been up and running since 2014, and thanks to the huge amount of help provided by Krones’ staff “our” Santa has already delivered more than 4,000 presents to children in the region. And even whose who this year didn’t manage to get hold of a wish slip can nevertheless continue to help – since some of the organisations concerned accept donations not only at Christmas. So the next time you decide to clear out your attic, please remember the homes, give them a call, ask what they need, and simply hand in the used clothes and toys there – the kids will be so pleased!