With reindeer and a sleigh soaring over the heads of shoppers at Freshney Place, the centre has been transformed into a magical Christmas world. Thousands of lightbulbs have been used in the transformation, at the centre of which is a huge snowy Christmas tree which forms the home of a very special old gentleman – Santa himself! No sooner had the centre started its pre-Christmas run of late-night openings on November 13th that mums and children started to queue to see him to let him have their Christmas lists. Centre Manager Mandy Loose said: "Switching on our Christmas lights is the culmination of a great deal of work that's gone on through the night whilst the Centre has been closed, and signals our run up to the festive season. "We are often told Christmas starts too early, but we don't want to leave it to the last minute, preferring instead to give the region's shoppers the opportunity to see our wonderful array of lights, and enjoy the 'christmassy' feel that's been created." |
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