Van Alkemade organizes the Christmas market together with the VONK breeding ground on the Larenseweg in Hilversum. He walks through the hallways in a homemade Santa suit. He walks past a workshop ‘crafting a nativity scene’ and ‘pimping a Christmas sweater’.
“I would like it if we threw away a little less during the holidays, because it is of course a very wasteful time of year,” says Van Alkemade.
This year a purple tree
A visitor stands with purple Christmas baubles in her hand. “I just turned in some of my old Christmas stuff and it’s going to be a purple tree this year.”
A man walks in with three bags full of Christmas lights. “Maybe it will be of use to someone,” he says. The question is whether they will do it, but luckily the men from the repair café are standing at a table next to it.
A little further on, the ‘new’ gifts are wrapped in pieces of cloth and newspaper. “I enjoy doing it so much, and I grew up using up what is left first,” says Ineke Uijtenhaak, as she attaches a ribbon to a gift wrapped in newspaper.
Good story about a second-hand Christmas gift
Most people at the Christmas market think that a second-hand gift under the Christmas tree is fine. “People around me now understand that it is more fun than something new,” says Van Alkemade. “But let people try it first, because if you have a good story, I think people will really like it if you come up with something second-hand.”
It is still unclear whether a circular Christmas market will be organized next year, but the organization hopes so.