Children First Derby held their annual Christmas Market in November, at Electric Daisy, on Bold Lane in Derby which was attended by over 300 people including Santa and his elves!
The event, which was sponsored by Smith Partnership, raised over £1000 for the charity.
Electric Daisy was a fantastic venue with plenty of space for the Christmas Donkeys, Santa’s Grotto and a fire pit to toast marshmallows. Although outdoors, the space was well covered to avoid the small drizzle of rain and beautifully lit up with Christmas lights and decorations, as well as a Christmas Tree which was kindly donated by Mr Christmas Tree in Spondon.
There was a range of stall holders there on the day, that set up in beautiful wooden huts, selling everything from dog treats to candles and toiletries. Children First Derby had their own stalls selling Santa Keys, Snowman Soup and Advent Calendars, kindly given to the charity at cost to help them raise money.
Alongside the stalls Children First Derby also had a traditional sweet cart and a Face Painter who was hugely popular with the children.
Electric Daisy, who provided the venue to the charity free of charge, had their horse box bar open and the pizza over fired up, keeping everyone fed and watered whilst they enjoyed the event.
One stall holder said, “This is one of the best Christmas Markets we have been to, and we do a lot at this time of year. It was well organised and there was plenty to do for all ages. It had a real buzz about it.”
There was plenty to do for all the family, children could write letters to Santa and post them in the very special North Pole Post-box whilst their parents shopped and enjoyed a festive tipple. There was also a chance to visit Santa in his grotto, complete with fire backdrop and stations to create your own ethical reindeer food station, decorate your own wooden baubles and the extremely popular s’mores station around the fire pit.
The ever-popular Christmas Donkeys were also back for the second year and the children loved stroking them and having their photos taken.
Louise Webb, Fundraising Coordinator said, “It was fantastic to have so many people attend on the day, Electric Daisy was a great venue in Bold Lane, and it was lovely to see new faces with people passing by coming in to see what all the excitement was about.
“I’d like to say a huge thank you to Jamie and his team, all our stall holders, our fantastic volunteers and of course Smith Partnership who helped make this event possible.
“As a charity we rely on fundraising from events like these to help support our Family Support and Mentoring Services.”
