Ho, ho holidays

Father Christmas hits Oldham town centre.

RAIN failed to dampen the Christmas spirit as reindeers paraded down the high street on Saturday afternoon to launch Oldham’s festive season.

Excited children and their parents lined the streets to catch a first glimpse of Santa and his reindeers with Christmas just over a month away.

They were joined by the cast of the Coliseum’s “Jack and the Beanstalk”, which launches on Saturday, giant puppets, the Reindeer Rocks youth band and Oldham town mascots Ollie and Millie in their first public appearance.

Tracey Chambers said the parade was always a great way to start the build up to Christmas and revealed her children were already starting to get excited.

She said: “It’s wonderful for the children to come down and see Santa but it’s also special for the parents and reminds you of what it was like when you were young.

“The children were so excited about coming down, seeing the reindeers “It’s a shame about the weather but it is brilliant to see that it has not stopped people coming out to see the parade.”

The parade began in Clegg Street before making its way down High Street, Lord Street, Albion Street and Henshaw Street before coming to a stop outside Spindles where Santa officially opened his grotto for the festive period.
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