Finally A Day Full Of Fun And Joy.

[gness]

We had a message from Santa a while ago asking if he could use our dining room to zoom chat with the children in our area. No meeting Santa and knee sitting this year.
Of course we agreed. I made a grotto and Dave did all the techy stuff needed.

Santa arrived and the fun began. I hid away. It's not a good idea for me to be near anything that could go wrong. I could hear though. The joy and excitement of little ones chatting to Santa was making even me a bit teary. Santa's called Santy here and the times I heard shouts of.....Santy....it's really Santy!

Santa knew what the children had been doing all year. It was in his Magic Book. The children loved that. Some even asked if friends were in the Magic Book....or not!
Santa and the children even discussed whether instead of a sherry and a mince pie a substantial meal would have to be provided this year. Santa explained that he was chubby enough and didn't want to get stuck in chimneys so perhaps just the carrots to keep Rudolph's nose nice and shiny.
This has been a wonderful day.... :-)

[eve1974]

ah lovely. Glad that your dining room was the location to spread so much joy. Our little niece lives in isle of man and there they have no lockdown (though extremely strict control at ports / quarantine rules). she got to sit on Santas lap and I felt so grateful she could do the "real" thing unlike many kids. In Isle of Man they have such a low rate but the locals are taking their own responsibility which helps

[Lie-in King]

:-))

[gness]

Taking our own responsibility made us the safe county, Eve. No cases. Then the schools opened and the distances children have to travel to school here ensured that the virus spread. No longer the safe county sadly.
Santa came to the hotel last year and was just fantastic. He heard that children were going to miss that this year hence the request to use our house.
I can't tell you how joyful it was hiding away just listening to the chats.

[pixie374]

Sounds brilliant :-).

[Zacs-Master]

My dad played Santa for a few years at our local community centre. He said it was a magical and rewarding experience.

[pastafreak]

Oh that sounds brilliant. You and Dave were lucky to be part of that x

[sunny-dave]

Yes Zacs - I was a real sceptic until my arm was twisted last year - now I wouldn't miss it for the world (even if zoomly distanced this year).

[Zacs-Master]

Glad you enjoyed it Dave & Gness. Have you thought of continuing it for kids in hospitals or hospices when things get back to normal?

[sunny-dave]

Yes, Zacs- it's sparked some ideas for the future.

Zoom Santa :

https://ibb.co/gwYJ7Dy

[Mamyalynne]

It's wonderful when Santa Zooms in , the children's faces are a joy - was watching some last night.

Great you could provide an outpost for the big fella, well done. x

[rockyracoon]

That sounds lovely. Well done you. Did Dave play Santy?

[rockyracoon]

Ah! I see by the photo that it was you. Well done

[LadyCG]

Wonderful, what a lovely story.

I hope the shouty one gets to see Santa next year xx

[Zacs-Master]

What a great pic. Santa in the 21st Century.

[gness]

The school has now asked Santa to do zoom chats to classes next week, Zacs including a small group of autistic children. He was brilliant with one autistic boy last year it seems.
We shall see where it goes from there.

We are lucky, Pasta and Santa saw the joy on the faces as Mamya says. I could only hear the chat but that was lovely...x

[gness]

No,Rocky. That's Dave messing. The real Santa was here to do the zooms.... ;-)

[Zacs-Master]

Wonderful. It’s important to try to keep the kids Christmas’ special.

[gness]

p.s. The eight pack of Guinness was there to hold up Santy's machine...not for him to drink... :-)

[Patsy33]

A lovely thing to do, gness and Dave. :-)

[gness]

It is, Zacs. It was surprising...or maybe not...how many little ones were worried that Santa may not be able to visit this year. Our Government put out the most fantastic statement outlining the exemptions that were being made for Santa.