Ukrainian children art and crafts from the christmas party...and mo...

These clay models have now become a permanent decoration here. They were made by Anna, an 8-year-old girl, whose mother is a nurse and whose father is a voluntary freedom fighter.

I cannot imagine what it must be like for a child to go through all of that...nor can I imagine what it is for a mother and a wife to go through all this or for a father and husband. But I do know that both Anna and her mother thoroughly enjoyed this activity at my Christmas party. They were so involved and dedicated to making the best fricking clay model ever. I meant for it to be both a fun and educational activity for the kids and the way Anna's mother guided her through the clay modeling I knew it was at the least educational.

While Anna and her mother were busy making many clay models, one of which was stationed at the reception for a few days, the other kids were busy creating some of the greatest masterpieces this world has seen ;)

Almost all of them have a similar story to Anna. Many are too young to even understand what's happening. One thing I realized is that these kids are extremely talented and very imaginative. I wish there was more time for them to complete their work...some of these looked good!

I could not capture all the drawings because most of them were taken home by the children.

Today, I received an appreciation letter from the local municipality, namely the "team Ukraine" part of the municipality. Turns out, my party was the first of its kind. There'll be more events for Ukrainians in a similar fashion here. I am not one to look for appreciation or applause, but this envelope made me happy - because it meant that the party grabbed people's attention at the municipality and there is a higher chance that we can organize more events for Ukrainians to wind down at.

I received some more pictures from the event today. Many of the Ukrainians need to go to the local municipality office for various reasons and turns out many attendees spoke about the party and positively. Obviously, the food was a huge part of the event. But as the evening progressed, it was the dance floor that was busy.

The children had a good time with the drawing, games, puzzles, and tree decorations. I think it's safe to say that both adults and children loved the dinner equally. I originally didn't plan it as dinner...but it became dinner. No one wanted to miss out on authentic Ukrainian cuisine. Original Ukrainian soup and snacks! Can't beat it. While the children were busy, the moms and grandmas joined the dance group and had their own fun. Many decided to go back to their roots and huddle up and gossip while sipping on hot tea or simply enjoying refills of the native Borsch.

I want to say this evening was the highlight of my 2022. Not only was it a marvelous night which many won't forget, but it also might have given rise to an opportunity to conduct many more such festivities for the Ukrainians here. Nothing is more valuable to me than seeing them happy and worry-free.