11/28/2023 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 11/29/2023 06:24
28 November 2023
Santa Claus was in Derry on Friday night to turn on the city's Christmas lights and the North Pole's most famous resident has made special arrangements with Derry and Strabane Council to make sure all the children in the city and district's letters get to him in time for Christmas.
Santa has installed a special Post Box in Guildhall Square that will deliver letters straight to his workshop in the North Pole and he has promised to respond to all the wish lists sent to him before the deadline of Monday 18th December.
Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District Council, Councillor Patricia Logue, lit up Ireland's tallest Christmas tree in Guildhall Square along with Santa on Friday night and she thanked him for locating the Post Box in the city centre.
"I am delighted that we have been able to team up with Santa and his team of hard working Elves and Reindeers in the North Pole to make sure all the children in our Council area can get their letters to him ahead of Christmas Eve," she said.
"This is an incredibly busy time for them as they prepare to deliver toys and presents to children all over the world so he has asked me to encourage children to get their wish list in as early as possible so that he can reply to everyone.
"The last post to the North Pole will be Monday December 18th and if you can't make it to Guildhall Square before then, Santa has kindly set up an e mail option for youngsters to submit their letters online.
"He asked me to remind people to include their postal address on their letters so he can respond in person ahead of visiting their homes on Christmas Eve."
If children can't make it to Guildhall Square letters can be e mailed to [email protected].
The Magical Christmas Processions to turn on the lights in Derry and Strabane at the weekend are part of Council's comprehensive Christmas programming for 2023 which includes Mayor Logue's Christmas Tea Dances and a number of new initiatives such as the St Columb's Cathedral Christmas Tree festival and the Derry Business Collective Christmas Market in St Columb's Hall.
Plan your Derry Strabane Christmas experience by accessing the full programme at derrystrabane.com/Christmas.
You can support and follow Council's support local campaign using the hashtags #DerryStrabaneChristmas and #GiftLocal on social media.