Tots To Teens: Correspondence with Santa and inclusive children's dolls  

Children have been posting letters to Santa for centuries. But how many of them have received a letter in return? Now, they can thanks to a new initiative 

Santa is responding to Irish children's letters, while helping Irish charities  

Correspondance with Santa

Children have been posting letters to Santa for centuries. But how many of them have received a letter in return? You can astonish your child with a letter from Santa thanks to a new initiative called Santa’s Letters.

Here’s how it works: children can send their digital Christmas wish list to Santa by logging on to www.santasletters.ie. Each child will then receive a number of personalised responses from the man himself as well as a video showing just what Santa and his team of reindeer are up to in the North Pole.

The service costs €5 per child and 50% of all the proceeds will be donated to Barnardos, Ronald McDonald House and the Children’s Health Foundation at Crumlin Children’s Hospital.

Poppy Rose and dad Declan sending their Santa Letters 

“It’s a simple way to bring a lot of happiness to many children,” says initiative founder, Alan McMahon. “Children will experience the thrill of corresponding with Santa while also supporting charities that do important work for other children going through difficult times.”

Bodywhys offer advice

Christmas is a time of feasting on mince pies, turkey sandwiches, and lots of chocolates.

This focus on food can make it particularly challenging for people affected by eating disorders, and those who try their best to support them.

This November 25, Bodywhys, the eating disorder association of Ireland, is organising a webinar for friends and family members who want to learn how they can support a person with an eating disorder through the festive season. Taking place from 10am to 12.30pm, email Maja at [e-mail] to book your place.

How to fit in exercise

More than 550,000 people follow mother of four Andrea Allen’s Instagram account @deliciouslyfitnhealthy. They do so because she shares lots of helpful tips and exercise routines. Some of them are designed to help mothers strengthen their bodies after pregnancy and childbirth, others to fit around the busy schedule of family life.

Her posts often feature her children. They’re relatable and funny and best of all, they show us simple achievable ways of becoming more active in our daily lives.

Christmas Jumper Day

Children’s Health Foundation Ambassador Rob Kearney is pictured with CHI Patients Shay (aged 3) and Chloe Treacy (aged 1) to launch Christmas Jumper Day 2022. Picture: Andres Poveda

Irish rugby star and Children’s Health Foundation ambassador Rob Kearney wants us all to dress up in our finest festive fashions on December 9. That’s this year’s Christmas Jumper Day, when families, schools, clubs, and companies throughout Ireland raise money for services for sick children.

“The Children’s Health Foundation’s Christmas Jumper Day is such a fun and easy way to get into the festive spirit while doing something to support sick children and their families when they need it most,” says Kearney. “You can help young people from across Ireland by raising vital funds for Crumlin, Temple Street, Tallaght and Connolly Hospitals.”

All you have to do is wear a Christmas jumper and encourage others to do likewise. Sign up for your free Christmas Jumper Day pack by visiting www.childrenshealth.ie/xmasjumper or calling 01 7091700.

Inclusive dolls

Blond Boy and Girl Dolls with Down Syndrome from Little Angel Rose 

At this time of year, many of us are racking our brains for gift ideas for the little people in our lives.

Inspiration is to be found at www.littleangelrose.com, a business run by Dublin-based mother of two Àngels Taylor, which sells a range of toys that have been designed with inclusivity, diversity, and sustainability in mind.

They include dolls with Down syndrome, dolls that wear glasses, and dolls that come wearing hearing aids. There is a range of rattan furniture for the dolls too, ranging from a highchair and a changing table to a bed and even a toy wheelchair. There are also accessories such as dolls’ clothes, shoes, and milk bottles.

Everything is made from natural materials and is free from plastic. Àngels Taylor hopes for her toys to be passed down through the generations for many years to come, helping abled children to see beyond disability and disabled children to feel like they belong.