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Father Christmas and festive donkeys visit Fielding Drive in Larkfield

06:00, 25 December 2020

Christmas spirit is at an all time high in Larkfield after a community came together to host a special visit from Santa.

Two festive-looking donkeys joined him on his socially distanced journey to Fielding Drive to surprise children with selection boxes and mince pies from the safety of their driveways.

Father Christmas, accompanied by two donkeys, visited Fielding Drive. Picture: Barry Goodwin
Father Christmas, accompanied by two donkeys, visited Fielding Drive. Picture: Barry Goodwin
Santa visited the children at the socially distanced event. Picture: Barry Goodwin
Santa visited the children at the socially distanced event. Picture: Barry Goodwin

The visit was organised by Natalie Davies, 38, one of Santa’s top advisors, who also lives in the street.

The mother-of-two felt her community, which has stayed strong through the pandemic, deserved a pick-me-up after what has been a tough year.

She said: “We have got quite a lot of elderly people in our street who haven’t been out since the first lockdown so I just wanted to do something nice for them and the children.

“The kids have missed out on so much this year so I wanted to bring them some Christmas magic.”

Mrs Davies who runs an event company used her expertise to organise the community event.

Natalie Davies with Santa's donkeys. Picture: Barry Goodwin
Natalie Davies with Santa's donkeys. Picture: Barry Goodwin
Seven year-old Naomi with one of Santa's donkeys. Picture: Barry Goodwin
Seven year-old Naomi with one of Santa's donkeys. Picture: Barry Goodwin

Empire Entertainment Group launched on January 4 but came to an unexpected halt when the pandemic hit.

Mrs Davis said: “We were raring to go and we had lots of private functions booked but then all of a sudden we had to stop.

“We have come up with new ways of adapting and it has been tough but I didn’t want to give up.

“Having Santa here is just one more thing I wanted to do for the people of Fielding Drive which is a really lovely place to live.”

Mrs Davies has been offering Elf visits to children over the festive season and the Easter Bunny even surprised kids with chocolate eggs in April.

Families chipped in to buy a community Christmas tree which stands proud in the middle of the street.

During Santa’s visit on Sunday, December 13, one-by-one households placed their individually decorated baubles on the tree.

Adults were also treated to free mince pies from a snack van while others tucked in to sweet treats from a made-to-order ice cream van.

Read more: All the latest news from Malling

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