Emotional praise for Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon's 'Relaxed Santa' sessions
The pre-Christmas ‘Relaxed Santa’ sessions, which enabled children with autism and special educational needs to enjoy the magic of Christmas in the first half of December, have now come to an end at Bleary Business and Community Centre.
Speaking at the latest monthly council meeting, Councillor Julie Flaherty was glowing in her praise for the ‘little helpers’ behind this wonderful initiative.
The last ‘Relaxed Christmas’ session – for this year at least – took place on Sunday, December 15.
The experience offered a range of seasonal activities featuring thoughtfully chosen Christmas decorations, lighting, props, and sensory items.
Each family was given the opportunity to spend quality time together in a magical atmosphere, with the overall experience lasting approximately 40 minutes.
Families were also able to immerse themselves in a festive journey featuring a silent disco, Mrs Claus’s Kitchen, the North Pole Projection Show, and Santa’s Grotto.
Speaking at last Monday’s monthly meeting, the UUP representative for Portadown recalled caring 24/7 for her young son Jake until his death, aged just two, in May 2013.
Because of his poor health, special arrangements had to be made so that the little boy could enjoy the Christmas spirit, which is why the ‘Relaxed Christmas’ initiative means so much to the Portadown representative.
She recalled: “I’ve been very open about this over the years. As you know, our Jake couldn’t get out to see Santa, so Santa came to see Jake before he did all his deliveries on Christmas Eve.
“We couldn’t take Jake out to the usual traditional family photo shoots as he was genuinely just so poorly. He couldn’t be in crowds of people with the hustle and bustle, so we did what we could to get a Christmas picture.
“This is why I get so emotional about this event that ABC Council run. I genuinely can’t tell you what this event means to me.
“Can I just say this to BNL Productions, Goal Line Youth Trust and our ABC team in the background, a huge thank you, it really was spectacular, it’s so special and I know that all of the above literally put blood, sweat, tears, heart and soul into this event, because it means so much for the families.
“I really can’t tell you, Lord Mayor, what it’s like for me to get so many messages and pictures from families about this event.
“I’m sure you’ve heard the same over the last fortnight, and seen the beautiful family photographs all over social media about this event.
“It really is magical. Literally Lord Mayor, we have the actual Santa. It’s that important to him too.”
Being clearly emotional at that stage, Cllr Flaherty added: “This event really makes my Christmas, so thank you Lord Mayor for inviting me along to a preview, which I think did us all good, and also to our Deputy Lord Mayor, Councillor Kyle Savage, for dropping by with me during the week.
“It’s important that we do drop in and support these events. I know other councillors did drop in as the event continued, and as I’ve always said, it’s just so important that other councillors see this for themselves.
“I look forward to a debrief in January. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for this, and let’s get working in the New Year on how we move this forward next Christmas.”
Lord Mayor, Councillor Sarah Duffy also ranked her ‘Relaxed Santa’ experience as being truly special.
“I would absolutely concur with those comments,” she said. “It was without a doubt one of the highlights of my mayoral year so far, and a huge thank you to all of those who have played a part in creating the magic out in Bleary.”
Councillor Peter Haire (DUP, Lurgan DEA) called for the annual initiative to be publicised even more: “The other day I actually called in myself to see what it was about, and it’s a great unbelievable experience.
“I think we don’t preach enough how good it is, I think our comms team need to do a wee bit more on it to promote it, because it’s an unbelievable experience, so I think next year a wee bit more pushing out there would be very good.
“Well done to all the staff and whoever was involved in that. It’s worth going to see if anybody hasn’t seen it before, any of the councillors.”
As a former Lord Mayor, Alderman Paul Greenfield (DUP, Banbridge DEA) said he too had found his experience of coming along on a mayoral visit truly special: “I agree with you, it was a highlight for me personally in my year [as Lord Mayor].
“It is so appreciated, and we really want to make sure it’s secured in our Christmas events.
“Thank you to all the staff and all who took part this year. As usual the feedback was fantastic and I know it meant a lot to a lot of people.”