Santa came to Ellon...but did he think it was naughty or nice?
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He made a list, he checked it twice… and just to make extra sure, Santa took some time out of his busy schedule to visit Ellon in the run-up to Christmas.
He tried to visit as many places as he could, squeezing in visits to schools, groups, care homes and public venues in the week’s leading up to his big night.
With parties galore in the run-up to the big day, Santa was able to help people of all ages get into the festive spirit.
Families welcomed him to JRD’s coffee shop where he led story time sessions and dined with visitors, and at Haddo he swapped the Claus for Paws to meet four-legged locals at their doggy grotto.
Always keen to lend a helping hand, Santa set up a miniature version of his Lapland grotto at a number of local events to help with fundraising and enthusiastically met with children to hear about what they'd like to find in their stocking on Christmas day.
He also met up with the local firefighters and Ellon Round Table to take to the streets to ensure that he could meet as many of the people on his list as possible and was delighted to be able to help the Round Table collect gifts for Northsound Cash For Kids’ Mission Christmas Appeal - a pleasant change from handing out presents like he's used to!
After being invited to help Ellon Rotary Club to make a donation to the local foodbank, Santa wrote a letter saying: "On Friday morning I took time out of my busy schedule to make a special delivery to the Ellon Food bank.
"At the recent Rotary senior citizens Christmas Party the guests were invited to make a donation to local charities, and a very generous £500 was raised for local good causes and it was agreed the Food Bank could make good use of it at this time of year.
"Karen at the food bank estimates they will provide food for over 5,000 people this year in North Aberdeenshire."
The people of Ellon impressed Santa so much during his visits that he pledged to put the town on his nice list and stop off during his trip around the world tomorrow night.
