Living Lerwick, the organisation behind the grotto, transformed the offices formerly occupied by RSM UK into a winter wonderland, creating a magical setting for Santa to welcome children from the community. The grotto was met with enthusiasm, drawing in a record-breaking 361 youngsters eager to share their Christmas wishes with the one and only Santa Claus.
Volunteers from the Lerwick Ladies Lifeboat Guild played a crucial role, assisting Santa in distributing gifts to each bairn who visited.
An amount of £3,300 was given as a donation to the Lerwick RNLI. A small percentage of the proceeds was allocated to cover the cost of gifts, complemented by a contribution from Living Lerwick. All gifts were sourced locally from Harry's Department Store.
Expressing her joy at the grotto's success, Living Lerwick Project Manager Emma Miller said, "We were thrilled to bring back the grotto again this year, knowing how much it means to the bairns in our community. Our little ones recognise that we have the real Santa, and he thoroughly enjoys his Lerwick grotto weekends as a special pre-Christmas break.The support we get from the Lerwick Lifeboat ladies is just fantastic, and we want to thank them very much for the time they put in to help raise this money for our local lifeboat, which delivers Santa each year to the parade.
We are also grateful to RSM for providing us with the venue and to Harry's for their assistance in supplying the numerous gifts that brought smiles to the faces of 361 children this Christmas."
