Tag Archives: Santa

RESIDENTS in Ennistymon Community Hospital have received some early Christmas presents thanks to the work of students from a local national school. Last Friday, children from Ennistymon National School delivered gifts to 17 residents in Ennistymon Community Hospital, much to their delight. Director of nursing, Orla Hickey told the Clare Champion Ennistymon National School approached us to donate presents to the residents because they couldn’t do their Shoebox Appeal. “It was lovely that so many people thought of the residents,” she said. She said residents were quite busy during the lockdowns bird watching, painting stones for the Sea Wall Art Project at Clahanes and gardening. Holly McMahon, a Fourth Class student in Ennistymon National School, said the pupils made Christmas cards, crafts and decorations to wish residents a happy Christmas. Holly said the cards contained a special message wishing all the patients a safe Christmas and New Year. Other gifts that were donated from parents included hairbands, rosary beads and books. …

The Clare Champion has received lots of letters for Santa Claus over the past few weeks. We will be sending them by special post to the North Pole, in good time for Santa and his team of elves to load his magic sleigh with presents for children all over the world. Don’t be too disappointed if Santa does not deliver all you asked for in your letter, as there is huge demand on some toys.   He will do his best with nice surprises instead. You can read all the letters to Santa in this week’s Clare Champion, in Living, pages 6 and 7.

Short of Christmas Eve itself, Santa’s busiest day in the run up to December 25 is set again for Shannon Airport as the big man jets in for his fifth successive annual Santa Flights on December 2 and 3. Over 2,000 children and their parents or guardians will be carried into the skies to meet Santa 15,000ft above sea level in what has now become the most anticipated event for children across the region aside from the big day itself. The excitement will be palpable and noise deafening as the delight fills the Shannon terminal and skies above for a very special two day treat for children from across the country. To raise even more funds for the Shannon Group charities this year, the airport is putting a new lottery system in place, to replace the €9.99 charge per seat last year. A €1 per seat application fee will apply to enter this year’s lottery and if you win the …

Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Shane Ross has confirmed that permission has been granted by the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) for Santa Claus to enter Irish air space this Christmas Eve. There had been worries that Storm Barbara may have interfered with the big man’s travel plans, but the IAA have assured themMinister that Mr Claus is good to go. It is believed that Mr Claus will be accompanied with a team of nine reindeer and a large flying sleigh, however it is not yet known whether he will be accompanied by Mrs Claus, who is sometimes in charge of navigation. In addition Minister Ross said that the Coast Guard had issued a special Christmas Navigation Warning for all Irish coastal waters and the Irish Sea. Minister Ross said, “I have been informed that a large, jolly man on a low flying sleigh, assisted by reindeer and perhaps some elves, will be entering Irish air space tomorrow evening. I …

The Clare Champion Christmas Shopping Guide will be published this Thursday as part ofyour favourite weekly newspaper. Running to 72 page, the guide highlights the huge range of retail and service providers in local towns and villages, which offer all kinds of Christmas presents, both for children and the young at heart. With so much to on our own doorstep, there is little need to stray beyond County Clare to fill your festive season shopping list. Cathaoirleach of Clare County Council Bill Chambers has encouraged people to be supportive of each other – to reach out to each other this Christmas. “I want to extend a warm welcome home to those who have travelled to Clare from abroad this Christmas. To those who are unable to come home this year, I want to say that you are in our thoughts. “Christmas is a time of great celebration and it is also a time for reflection. It is a time for …

The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission has an extensive list of  unsafe toys, which Santa shouldn’t be asked to bring this Christmas. Last year, the commission prevented some 20,000 unsafe toys from being placed for sale on the Irish market. The unsafe toys, mainly imported from China, were unbranded, of poor quality and intended for sale at markets or discount shops. If the commission determines that a product presents a hazard to the consumer, it can compel the trader to take appropriate remedial action, which might include the product being withdrawn from the market and the recall and or repair of products already sold. The commission is the Irish contact point for the Europe-wide rapid alert system, RAPEX, which contains a list of all product recalls, which have taken place in the EU. Safety tips for parents in guiding their children when compiling their Santa list: Only buy toys with the CE Mark. All toys for sale in Ireland must have the …

Santa Claus will soon be setting out from the North Pole with his reindeer and sleigh in the direction of Ireland and he wants to know what toys and treats to load up for the children of County Clare. He needs your list pretty soon, as the elves have to put the finishing touches to some of the toys, computer games, team jerseys and other surprises. Rather than run the risk of your letter not reaching Santa’s North Pole workshop, why not write to The Clare Champion and let us deliver it for you. After all, we have been delivering the news to the people of Clare and adjoining counties for over 120 years. Send your letter to Santa, C/O The Clare Champion, Barrack Street, Ennis, County Clare. Because we have received so many letters  and have to sort them in alphabetical order to make things easier for Santa, we have decided to extend the deadline to 12 noon on …

Shannon Airport has again apologised for problems experienced by people trying to book its special Santa Flights and has said booking for the remaining seats will reopen on Wednesday. “We are pleased to announce that Santa Flights will be available to book online via our Shannon Airport website from midday, Wednesday, December 3,” a spokesperson for the airport stated. “We are really sorry for the problems experienced last week in booking the flights. We are really keen to get it right and are finalising new booking arrangements. We are conscious of the demand and we want to ensure that as many families as possible will have the opportunity to book flights. We would like to sincerely apologise for the inconvenience caused and thank you once again for your patience while we are working to rectify the situation,” he continued. Booking for the flights opened at 2pm on Friday but many parents were left disappointed as demand caused the booking system …