More than 200 children have so far visited a Santa’s grotto at Keighley’s Airedale Shopping Centre, with proceeds going towards a cat and kitten welfare charity.
Aside from Santa himself, the grotto is manned almost exclusively by Yorkshire Cat Rescue volunteers dressed as elves, along with their mascot Haworth Cat.
Yorkshire Cat Rescue founder, Sara Atkinson, said: “At our grotto, children get to spend some quality time with Santa and tell him all about what they want for Christmas.
“It’s great fun, and the volunteers are putting their heart and soul into it.
“All the proceeds from the grotto go directly to the running of our rescue centre. Without comparison, this has been our most challenging year to date, and we need all the support we can get. The fact that the kids get a great experience, too, makes it a double bonus for us.”
Parents have been buying photos of their children visiting Santa, as well as a copy of the 2014 Yorkshire Cat Rescue calendar and charity Christmas cards.
The grotto will be open every weekend until Christmas, including December 23 and on Christmas Eve.
Sara applauded the Airedale Centre for making its premises available, and also thanked all the parents and children who have supported the grotto.
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