... Santa is coming to town ...

Sunday 28th November 2010

10:48am

Despite not being a good Christmas person, which I put down to the festive season been surrounded by food, not the fact I'm a Scrooge - I found myself volunteering to be Santa's Little Helper for the opening of Warrington Disability Partnership's opening of their magical Christmas Grotto.

Why volunteer if I'm not the best with Christmas person? I want this year to be different really. Already my year is different, I'm happy because I want to be not because I feel forced to smile and I am slowly able to let rip my true feelings. A fresh Christmas? Yes please!! Those around me at the moment know how much the season terrifies me, but they are helping me through. I do not just have the support of my wonderful mum and dad, who are finding ways to help me deal with the day and have done over the past few years, but this year I have Tom and his family too =] ... so when I was asked to spend some of Christmas with them, I was already not having to think and said yes, but then realising how my parents would react! Thankfully they were fine, they both know how hard Christmas is for me and so allowing me to have a bit more of a relaxing time during the day, so I can't complain to much really can I!?

So as the Little Helper for Santa, I had a cold morning put it that way!! I may have been freezing cold but it was so worth it. When you see young children so excited to be able to see Santa, you realise how much Christmas does mean to a lot of people. Small children were telling me how good they had been during the year, some of them had just started school and so told me they were working really hard and nice to the teacher (wonder how long that will last hey!! role on high school for them!!) I got to become someone else, I had another little identity which the children loved, I was asked so many times if it was cold in Lapland, if I said yes it was like do you have snow, they I had to explain how the snowmen came a live during Christmas due to the magic of Christmas, they looked amazed and it was nice to see parents see their children smile so much over something they could only believe in and not see. I felt honoured to be told I looked taller than a normal elf, I did feel slightly chuffed until the nice young lad added, but not much taller - THANKS!!!! His dad looked mortified but I suppose it can't just be Tom and Beany who like to comment on height!!

I couldn't believe that I was in the same room as three camels at one point, although I was determined that one was trying to kill me and eat me, however was told by my lovely adopted uncle Dave that I could't be classed as a meal and the camel would get more out of him and Patrick, so it was agreed I could be an appetiser!! I always thought that the humps on a camel where hard, however these seemed to droop, maybe they were old lady camels, instead of having droopy boobs they had droopy humps!!

By the afternoon, I was saved from my tiny elf outfit and taken out for some warmth with Jayne and Beany =] although I couldn't find my scarf so was just as cold when I got back outside!! For a while me and Jayne helped on the outside Stall, where it was decided it was too cold and we needed a hat!! So I think the lady on the Stall next to us made money off the cold vulnerable staff from the WDP stall - even our teddy penguins looked cold and so spent some time in Dave's coat with just their heads popping out!!

While mum and dad spent a day in Dublin and I froze my ass off in Warrington Town Centre, I finally realised that Christmas was coming and my fear of the season could slowly start to go and maybe by next year or if not the year after I could finally bring myself to be getting excited for Christmas before now, and while people are starting their own count downs, I could be getting excited without the thought of great a time for an excessive amount of food to be around, but to realise that I have a wider family base now I have Tom =]

So yes, I suppose I am letting Santa come to Town bit by bit but I will get there, I want to get there ....

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