Each year, our Christmas project begins long before December arrives. Months in advance, Princip teams and volunteers across the Balkans and the diaspora prepare gifts, organise logistics, coordinate with local communities and map out every area we will visit. It is our most loved project of the year, and the one that brings together the largest number of people who simply want children to feel joy, warmth and dignity during the holiday season.
Deliveries begin in early December and continue all the way to the end of January, reaching children across the Balkans. We visit orphanages, kindergartens, schools, children in remote enclaves, children with special needs, and many who may not receive a single other gift all year.
But what makes this project truly meaningful is not just the gifts, it is the time spent with the children. Our volunteers do not drop off packages and leave. They stay. They play, sing, talk, paint, dance and share moments that the children remember long after the holidays are over. In many places, entire days are organised with community members, teachers and local leaders to create small celebrations, performances and gatherings where every child feels seen and valued. A wrapped gift may be simple, but in these villages it carries a powerful message. It tells a child, someone remembered you. Someone cared enough to prepare something just for them. Someone made sure that this Christmas, they were not forgotten.
