Villagers hope online Christmas events will spread ‘hope and joy’

Volunteers from a northeast village have planned Christmas-themed events to boost morale.

The Cruden Bay Community Association plans to spread some Christmas cheer with a series of online events in the lead-up to December 25.

The Cruden Bay Community Christmas Countdown will include activities such as a bakeo ff , carolling and a Christmas lights display.

Volunteer Lucy Taylor hopes it will create “a sense of joy and togetherness” and said: “We don’t really know yet what Christmas will hold but people may not be able to see their families as much as they’d like.

“This isn’ t just something for children, it’s something for people of all ages to get involved in. We live in a big village with a lot of people and an elderly community as well.”

Children at Port Erroll School have been challenged to draw a Christmas scene as part of the fun.

On December 4-5, Santa will ride round the village on a “Covidfriendly sleigh” to hand out selection boxes.

Mrs Taylor is also one of the co-founders of the Doorstep Diaries project which aims to show future generations what life in lockdown was like.

She said: “What people liked about the doorstep project is that people from further afield could see photos of their loved ones they couldn’t visit and could see they were all right.

“We hope these plans will also create a feeling of togetherness.”

The events are on Facebook, but leaflets will also be distributed.

Cruden Bay is gearing up for a different Christmas.