Mrs Claus welcomed in Newport as rotary raises hundreds

Mrs Claus came out to visit children and families in Newport and its surrounding villages over the weekend and managed to raise hundreds for Newport Rotary Lite to continue its good work.

Newport Rotary Lite's Santa’s sleigh has received a fantastic welcome from people in Newport, Lilleshall and Church Aston.

Children have been posing for photos, bus passengers waving, and parents enjoying a few minutes’ peace.

The Rotary's Mrs Claus, Claire Roscoe, said: “We have just had the most fantastic response. Children were bounding up to the sleigh where we had parked on The Square, they’ve been posing for photos with Santa and the elves, and several came back for a second visit.

"We’ve had elderly people stopping for lovely chats, given directions to the chip shops, and posed with a boy’s teddy bear. We even had a lovely dog join in.

“Parents seemed to really enjoy the atmosphere, and several said it felt like Christmas had started now they had seen our sleigh in town. Lilleshall and Church Aston people were equally happy, and I think appreciated us going out to them.”

The event has raised £440 this weekend which means the Rotary can start planning how to help those in need in the Newport area.

Claire added: "Several people were interested in Mrs Claus being in the sleigh instead of Santa. We’re a mixed club so it makes perfect sense for us, and we explained to the children that Santa was having a rest from eating too many mince pies. She got a very positive reaction.

“This coming weekend is the last chance for everyone to see Santa before he heads back to the North Pole. We’d like to see as many people as we can to really spread a bit of Christmas fun, and also to raise more money if we can – every little really does help."

The sleigh will be outside Waitrose on Saturday, December 18 from 10am until 4pm. Then on Sunday, December 19, Santa will be on The Square in Newport from 10am until 2pm.