Every December, when the days get darker and the first fairy lights appear in kindergartens, we know it’s time for something special at ELIIS – our annual Christmas campaign that celebrates amazing teachers.
Why do we run a Christmas campaign?
ELIIS is a digital platform that supports kindergartens, teachers, leaders and local authorities.
In everyday life, it’s a practical tool that makes it easier to:
track children’s development,
communicate with families,
handle administration.
But once a year, we want to do something that speaks more to the heart than to features and functions.
Through ELIIS we see, every single day, how many teachers:
put a huge amount of effort into decorating their classrooms,
involve children in coming up with creative ideas,
turn the waiting time for Christmas into a small, magical story for the children.
Our Christmas campaign is our way of saying:
“We see you. Thank you for doing more than what is expected.”
A bit of history
Before we started our “Big Christmas Draw”, we ran a very special Christmas project in 2017.
That year we set ourselves a bold goal:
to give a colouring book to every child in kindergartens using ELIIS – and to do it using the income we earned during the year.
In the end, almost 43,000 colouring books were delivered.
This project showed us two important things:
The kindergarten community is incredibly warm and supportive.
At Christmas, we want to do something that really supports both children and teachers.
From that moment, a new tradition began – and over time it grew into what we now call our Big Christmas Draw.
You can watch a short video from that early project here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TC48pRjuyyQ
The Big Christmas Draw – when a classroom turns into a winter wonderland
We organised our first Big Christmas Draw in 2020, and we have continued it every year since.
Decorating classrooms for Christmas is no longer “just another thing on the to-do list”.
For many teachers and children it has become a real passion project.
The idea of the campaign is simple:
Kindergarten groups decorate their classroom with a Christmas or winter theme.
They take a photo or a short video.
They add it as a comment under our ELIIS social media post.
People – families, colleagues, friends and other supporters – look through the decorations and react to the ones they like the most.
The entries that collect the most reactions/likes become the winners.
That means strong “competition” and a lot of creativity:
cosy reading corners with reindeers, magical Christmas fireplaces, entire “Christmas villages” and light installations created together with children.
In some years we have even tried to create a short video to show all the entries – but because the number of participants keeps growing, it has become almost impossible to fit everything into one short clip.
“Are you doing the Christmas Draw again this year?” – teachers’ excitement
One of the clearest signs that this campaign truly matters is what happens already in November.
We start getting messages like:
“Will there be a Christmas Draw this year?”
“When does the campaign start this time?”
This excitement is the main reason we keep going.
Teachers tell us that:
decorating the classroom brings the team closer together,
children feel proud: “This is our room!”,
the whole community – from parents to grandparents – follows the voting and supports “their” group.
Has the campaign changed over time?
When many people take part and thousands see the results, it’s natural that we also receive feedback and criticism.
That is absolutely fine – and we try to listen and improve the campaign every year.
1. Facebook reactions
For a long time, the rule was very simple:
the group whose photo gets the most reactions (likes, hearts, etc.) wins.
This approach is transparent and easy to understand.
At the same time, it can favour kindergartens with a bigger community.
However, we also see that if people feel another group has clearly put in more effort, then the reactions do not come automatically. Every year we notice that a big part of the likes comes from people who are not directly connected to the kindergarten – they simply appreciate the creativity.
2. Jury version
One year we tried something different.
We invited a jury to review the entries from a creative and educational perspective.
The jury did a fantastic job, but of course, when it comes to art and creativity, people always ask:
“Is this fair? Isn’t this too subjective?”
Because of that, this year we decided not to use a jury and to return to the “classic” version based on reactions. We know that no system is perfect, but we try to balance:
transparency,
fun and playfulness,
and community involvement.
Growing with ELIIS – now in several countries
When we started the Big Christmas Draw in 2020, the main focus was our home country.
Since then, the campaign has expanded step by step.
Today we run the Christmas campaign in several countries, including:
Latvia
Estonia
Lithuania
Poland
Ukraine
Campaigns in larger countries have been especially exciting. In some cases, a single campaign post has been shared thousands of times.
For many entries, the total reach is well over 100,000 people, which means that children’s Christmas joy travels far beyond one classroom or city.
Who supports the Christmas Draw?
Over the years, many wonderful companies have joined us in supporting teachers and children.
Among them are:
toy and game stores,
educational technology companies,
furniture and interior design companies,
theatres and entertainment providers,
training and professional development organisations.
They have helped us create prizes that are useful, fun, and inspiring for both children and staff.
Each of them has contributed prizes for the groups and teachers who stand out in this year’s campaign.
If any company would still like to join this year, it is still possible with quick action – every additional partner means more joy and recognition for teachers.
How to join this year?
Once again, we invite all kindergartens using ELIIS to take part.
📅 The campaign starts on 8 December.
On that day we will publish a special post on the ELIIS social media channels (Facebook).
Finally: a big thank you to all teachers 💛
For us, this Christmas campaign is not “just a marketing activity”.
Thank you to the teachers, who turn classrooms into magical winter worlds.
Thank you to the children, who create Christmas magic with their small hands and big ideas.
Thank you to kindergarten leaders and local authorities, who support these efforts.
And thank you to our partners, who help us make the recognition and joy even bigger.
If you are a teacher, leader or assistant – this campaign is for you.
If you are a parent – please join the voting and share your child’s group entry.
If you represent a company – we would love to welcome you as a partner in bringing even more happiness to educators.
We are looking forward to seeing all the beautiful decorations again this year – and to sharing that joy with kindergartens and communities in many different countries. ✨
