Manchester 8th December 2011

This was our 15th flight to Rovaniemi in Finland from the Northwest Office, to meet the real Santa Claus...

On the 8th December 2011, 4am in the morning over 50 bleary eyed but very bushy tailed, wish team volunteers, medical staff and celebrities, wait to greet 98 very exited children who will be soon arriving at Manchester Airport for another magical day trip to Lapland, to meet the real Santa Claus ..

As the children and families start to arrive, the terminal is soon full of giggles and chatter, gasps of delight, and lots of camera flashes... Posing for pictures and autographs with Fireman Sam, Peppa Pig, Bob the builder, Welephant, PC Panda, Moonbeam, Moonchester, Lanky the giraffe, not forgetting our 12ft high toy soldier and enchanted Ice pixie both on stilts.

All aboard and Lapland here we come!!

The excitement on the plane was continuous throughout the flight, as Wendy Peters (Cilla) Sue Cleaver (Eileen) Nicki Sanderson (Candice) Brooke Vincent (Sophie Webster) Sacha Parkinson (Sian)  and Georgia May Foote (Katy) all from Corrie wander up and down the plane, posing for pictures and autographs, whilst our spellbinding John the magician and Rumple the balloon clown kept the children entertained and the laughter flowing.

Touching down at the airport in Rovaniemi the children are greeted by a blanket of white fluffy snow, and just can't wait to board their coach to take them onto the next  adventure  the 'Enchanted Forest'..  The children waste no time and are soon bombarding mums, dads and 'celebrities' with hundreds of snowballs, and as always Saracen the gladiator came off worst ha hal!

The children's enjoyment from the thrilling husky and reindeer rides, skidoo and snowmobile driving, ice sliding and sledging was endless.  All around the forest the tee-pee tents and log cabins, with glowing warm fires and sheepskin benches were extremely welcoming for when the little one's needed a quick charge of battery and warm up.

Before setting off to meet a the special man, everyone gathered around the large campfire eating delicious hot sausages, toasting gooey marshmallows, sipping hot chocky and berry juice, whilst fireworks lit up the skies, and we all huddled together, to sing a collection of Christmas Carols, accompanied by Amalle from the Sugar Babes, Will Mellor, and Richard Arnold.

98 little excited faces all anxiously waiting for their first glimpse of Santa Claus was a very emotional moment indeed... The children gasped in disbelief as Santa made his way towards them across a frozen lake of ice, with his faithful friend Rudolph pulling his sleigh behind him...                                                                         

The children's special moment with Santa was so magical, sat on the big man's knee, with such little excited faces whispering their secret Christmas wish lists, hopes and dreams into his ear, lots of "have you been good" and "Ho-Ho-Ho's" could be heard bellowing from Santa, and best of all the huge endless smiles from the children posing for that all important picture, (whilst mum or dad looked on with pride and a big tear in their eye.  As Santa slipped away to carry on making his toys for Christmas Day, we all headed off for our final destination  Santa's village.

The shops in the village are full of beautiful Christmas ornaments and unusual gifts, but a must for everyone, is a visit to Santa's post office. Once inside you will get to see thousands of letters from all across the world that are sent to Santa each year. Meet some of Santa's helpers and also a great place to stop for a photo or two... Experience the Ice-Bar, Ice slide, and most impressive of all is Santa's Workshop!! All spent up, and time running out, we all head off to the airport for the journey home...

The return journey home was just as entertaining as on the way out, this time with the cast of Hollyoaks Jessica Fox (Nancy Hayton) Rachel Shenton (Mitzee) Jorgie Porter (Theresa McQueen) and James Atherton (Will Savage) all wandering up and down the plane signing autographs and posing for pictures.  To end the day perfectly some of the remaining children that were still awake, entertained us all with some delightful and some not so delightful jokes using the air steward's phone as a mic... Our celeb's however never missing a moment jumped at the chance to entertain us too, and showed us indeed just why they are celebs.  Wendy Peters and Paul Crone sang a lovely Christmas duet, Sue Cleaver and Richard Arnold followed suit. Nicky Sanderson and Amalle both sang fantastic solo's to huge applause...

To finish off the families magical Lapland day... The Wish Team have just one more surprise in store!  Arriving back into the terminal at Manchester airport, looking to greet their family members, to their surprise they are first greeted by the Wish Team ground crew and volunteers, who are handing out a selection box to each of the children, whilst the delightful ladies of Handbags of Harmony Choir are singing the most beautiful jolly Christmas songs. After teary hugs and lots of  sad goodbyes we all finally wave our last sleepy little one off, and have a final group sing song with the choir to celebrate our magical day with our amazing children and Wish Team volunteers...