Christmas cheer comes to Cranmore!
ALTHOUGH it’s going to be a different Christmas this year, it’s certainly not stopping bringing festive cheer to young children in the area.
On Saturday, children in Cranmore were delighted to see a special socially distant visit from Santa Claus himself who gave out selection boxes to children in the area.
The event was organised by the Cranmore Community Co-operative Society. For the past number of years Santa has been visiting Cranmore and children would come to the Cranmore Co-op on Devins Drive where they would see Santa, get a selection box and then the community would come together for the turning on of the Christmas tree lights. This year however things needed to be done differently on account of Covid-19 and guidelines around mass gatherings.
Mark Elliot, Community Development Worker with the Co-op said: “We did not want the children to miss out on seeing Santa this year so we decided that we would drive him around from street to street. Parents were asked to ensure their child stayed within their own garden and Santa with the help of his elves provided each child with a selection box.
“Just over 250 selection boxes were handed out on the day and the look of joy and surprise on the children’s faces was priceless. There were two vans decorated on the day, one carrying selection boxes and a massive speaker and another carrying Santa. Both vans entered each street amid a flurry of beeping horns and Christmas music blaring and there was no mistaken who was en route as children waited eagerly in their gardens to see the big man himself. The response from the community has been extremely positive and we at the Co-op would like to thank everyone who helped out on the day, especially our volunteers who dressed up and helped Santa with his deliveries. We would also like to thank Sister Rita and the Sisters of Mercy for their very generous donation towards running the event. Thanks to Liam from Feeneys Garden Centre who erected the tree and put the lights on. A special thanks to Father Pat Lambard from St Anne’s who came and blessed the tree and turned on the lights on Saturday evening. This part of the day was surely a sign of the current times as there were no crowds present due to Covid. Another personal touch on the day were the laminated stars which were added to the tree. These were made by children from the community to remember loved ones who have passed away and this has become somewhat of a tradition. All in all, the day proved to be a massive success and once again thanks to everyone who helped make it possible,” Mark added.