A Christmas bell, a Santa Claus, a nativity scene, a Christmas bear, and a Christmas lampshade. The temporary Christmas thrift store in Woensel Shopping Center is open again. Also with inexpensive items. The proceeds from the store go to three charities.
Those charities are Alpe d’HuZes/KWF, open house De Eik, and the foundation ‘No Guts no Glory’. Walther Hoeijmans is the driving force behind the initiative. He is still amazed to see what is for sale in the thrift store. “Every day the stock is different. Because we don’t know in the morning what we are going to unpack. So it can just happen that an hour later we have items in the store and as you turn around, it’s already sold.”
Golden Baubles
Jacqueline from Geldrop came to the Christmas thrift store with her sister and is very pleased with her purchase: gold baubles for the tree. “I do like to hang something different in the tree every year. And here it’s nice and cheap, so very nice buying. And the proceeds also go to a good cause.”
What especially appeals to Jacqueline about Christmas is the atmosphere and coziness. “I love that. A store like this is perfect. It makes me very happy. And also the people around me, apparently, because I see smiling faces everywhere.”
Small fair
According to Walther, the diversity of customers is great. “There are people with a very small purse, who really have to think about every euro before they spend it. But there are also customers – and even traders – who come in here and buy stuff for dozens and sometimes hundreds of euros.”
‘Old balls’
Girlfriends Jozefien and Ria from Eindhoven are also enjoying shopping. Ria: “Coincidentally, we wanted a Christmas tree and we walked by here. So we walked in and bought all kinds of things. However, we didn’t know yet that the proceeds from this store go to charity. That’s totally awesome!”
“I give away my Christmas tree every time,” Jozefien laughs. “To my children, because then I think it’s too big. But I end up buying a new tree again and then it’s one of those big ones again. Haha! Oh well, you know, I do sustain the small businesses that way!”
There is one stand Jozefien and Ria haven’t yet visited: the one with old, almost antique stuff. There is a sign next to it: ‘Old balls’. The ladies can laugh heartily about it. “We’ll take a look at the old balls in a moment. Maybe there’s something nice to pick out!”
Still open
The Eindhoven Christmas thrift store is open until Saturday, Dec. 23. After that, all remaining items will be neatly stored back in the depot. Waiting for the next Christmas season…
Source: Studio040
Translated by: Chaitali Sengupta.
