SANTA and Mrs Claus visited close to 1,000 children during a busy tour of the Falls this week.
Hosted by the Falls Partnership Initiative, Santa toured streets, schools and Sure Start creche's throughout the district in preparation for his big journey on Christmas Eve.
Robert McClenaghan from the Falls Partnership initiative said Santa, while adhering to Covid-19 regulations, gave presents to 946 children over three days.
Though pre-Christmas visits to Santa usually come with a fee, Robert – who is a personal friend of the big man – said local community reps ensured kids in the Falls were covered.
"The children need to see Santa and so do the parents," he said. "If you think that we have almost 1,000 children, and it costs £10 to see Santa, get your photo taken and get a present, then we're saving our community £10,000 right away at a time when the gas and electric is going up and the whole cost of living is spiralling out of control.
"It's good for the parents to see their children getting to see Santa, and it's good for us as community representatives. It's our chance to give back to the community."
During last year's Christmas dry-run in the Falls area, a "minor incident" saw Santa's sleigh briefly pulled over by PSNI officers intent on enforcing the highway code.
After conversations with the local community, the PSNI and Santa "are all singing the same carols this year," Robert added.
