Christmas will still be magical for vulnerable children, vows Lapland Trust charity

The Northern Ireland Children to Lapland and Days to Remember Trust has brought hundreds of ill and vulnerable children to Santa's homeland over the past 12 years.

But with travel restrictions in place due to the coronavirus pandemic, the charity was forced to postpone this year's festive visit.

The announcement comes just days after travel industry giant TUI confirmed it would be cancelling all of its trips to Lapland.

Instead of its traditional festive flight to Rovaniemi, Finland, NICLT will instead embark on a new, temporary initiative called 'Three Steps To Christmas'.

"This campaign will call on health trusts to nominate 100 very special terminally ill, life-limited or deserving children from all over Northern Ireland to receive some extra special Christmas presents from NICLT while their siblings can join in the festivities as they too receive a smaller gift," a statement from NICLT read.

"The Three Steps To Christmas will begin with a detailed and touching personal letter from Santa. This will be followed up by a video greeting from the man himself, from his home in Lapland, with his trusty elves, huskies and reindeer by his side.

"And, finally, the chosen gifts will be delivered right to each child’s doorstep, just before Christmas and, if Covid regulations allow, some of Santa’s elves to help with the deliveries.

"It is hoped that with each stage the excitement will grow and be enjoyed not only by the child, but also by the entire extended family who can join in the fun."

The decision to cancel the trip was a "tough one to make", says Colin Barkley, NICLT chairman.

“It’s hard to believe that our hopes and dreams at the turn of this new decade have been put on hold due to circumstances that no-one could have ever predicted," he added.

"As Covid-19 played havoc with how we work, live and play, we at NICLT were regrettably forced to make tough decisions that have seen us postpone many of our much-loved annual events but like all our decisions, this was done with the health and safety of the children we support in mind.

“While these are difficult and unprecedented times, we can’t and won’t allow the magic of Christmas to be diminished for these wonderful children which is why we have created the Three Steps to Christmas campaign.

“It will allow us to support these children and still inject a bit of magic into their Christmas 2020.”

Gerry Kelly, president of NICLT, said: “Covid-19 has made its mark felt on all sectors, not least the charity world. But we have not taken a break from fundraising, and instead have thought up creative ways to bring funds in to ensure that we can continue to provide an experience that enriches the lives of some of the most vulnerable young people in our society.

“We know the Three Steps to Christmas campaign might not equal a trip to Lapland, but it will attempt to recreate some of that magic at the safety of our children’s own homes.

"We look forward to kicking off the campaign and would like to thank those who continued to raise funds for NICLT during this challenging time.”

To find out more about the charity click on https://www.niclt.org/ or follow on Facebook @childrentolaplandtrust

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