The History of Walkden and Little Hulton's Tea with Santa
Back in the summer of 2021, the idea of Tea with Santa was born when the now Tea with Santa Team (who were members of the congregation at St. John the Baptist Church) proposed to run a secular Christmas event that aimed to build community and bring together people after the difficult years of separation that the COVID pandemic caused. Our goal was to lift communuity spirits by spreading a little Christmas cheer. Across 3 events in December last year, we welcomed more than 70 children to sit down, have a meal and meet Santa. We received great feedback, which prompted us to run the event again this year, and aim even higher.
Our Tea with Santa event is the culmination of months of hard work from people aging from 16 to 80, all working as volunteers to make this the best event possible. Whilst the team are mostly members of St.John's Church, this is strictly a secular (non-religious) event that is open to people of all backgrounds and any faiths. We are fortunate to have received sponsorship from a number of local organisations which helps cover the costs of the event and allows us to keep the costs to a minimum. In the event that all tickets are sold, we hope to be in a position to make a small donation towards the renovation of St.John's Church building, and any surplus will be used by the Community Centre to fund future events. You can find all of our sponsors on our Sponsors Page.
The Tea with Santa team is committed to continuing to build community outside of the holiday period too. Throughout the year, we help to run other events, in 2022 and 2023 we were involved in the Scarecrow Festival (October 2022/2023) and the Easter Fun-day (April 2022/2023) that took place in Walkden. We are excited to continue our story in 2024 and look forward to all that is planned!
Our Team
Along with a behind the scenes team working in the kitchen, on social media, and helping out with admin, Santa is joined by Ms. Clause and two of his favourite helpers from the North Pole!
