Children's home youth raise money at annual Tallinn Christmas fair
This Saturday at Tallinn's Ülemiste Center, children and youth from more than two dozen children's homes showcased and sold handmade crafts at the annual Double Gift Christmas fair, with proceeds helping fund the kids' pocket money or bring their dreams to life.
Saturday's fair marked the 20th edition of Double Gift, one of the most anticipated events of the year for its participants. This year, more than 100 children from 26 foster homes across the country tried their luck as vendors at the popular Tallinn mall.
Two teens, Mari-Liis and Liis-Mari, are already old hands at the fair; they know exactly what customers are looking for.
"Chili jam and marinated mushrooms are usually what sell like hotcakes," Mari-Liis declared. "We typically do this all summer – we forage for the [wild] mushrooms in the forest ourselves – and we craft and make everything throughout the year so we can come here to sell it."
The money earned at the fair goes directly to the young sellers themselves, both as personal pocket money and for realizing bigger dreams.
"We're saving this money so we can go on a trip with our foster home [next] summer," Mari-Liis said. "Maybe to an island in Estonia, or rediscover someplace familiar."
Liis-Mari added that she has the same plans as Mari-Liis.
"There have been quite a few young people here already involved in entrepreneurship," highlighted Tallinn Children's Home director Meelis Kukk. "So this is [their] first opportunity to experience what vending at a fair or working as a salesperson is like."
In another corner of the fair, young first-time sellers Uljana, Bogdan and Zahar were already showing impressive sales numbers early on in the day. The trio were offering a variety of goods, from plants to soaps.
The eager vendors also left quite the impression on shoppers, ensuring that few walked away from the fair empty-handed.
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Editor: Marko Tooming, Aili Vahtla