BRILLIANT TOYLAND

Evening Star, Issue 20980, 19 December 1931, Page 12

BRILLIANT TOYLAND

FATHER CHRISTMAS AT TOWN HALL MULTITUDE OF CHILDREN ENTERTAINED At the Town Hall_ this afternoon, Father Christmas, alias Santa Claus, reigned supreme. The stage was his throne, and around him, arranged along the tiers immediately in front of the organ, were the toys which, thanks to the enterprise of the mayoress (Mrs R. S. Black) and her willing helpers,' have been gathered to brighten the Christmas season of a multitude of children. . , Judging from information which had leaked”out about this festival, one had been led to understand that something remarkably entertaining and spectacu|fir was in store, but it is doubtful if any person, adult or child, was prepared for the absolute splendour that greeted the eve when entry to the main hall was effected. The Christmas tree, rising shrine-like rfrpm among tiers of juvenile gifts, was richly ballooned and festooned, while a somewhat similar decorative effect had been carried down to the long- tables which, loaded with all the good things that children’s parties are made of, ran the length of the body of the hall. Amid such surroundings as these, and attended with thoughtful understanding by an army of workers, the little guests fully appreciated the spirit of the party, and from the moment Santa Claus arrived, drawn by Messrs Thomsons’ black ponies, till the last rites of the joyous function had been traversed, there was not the slightest room for anything that savoured of dull care. It was a day which the young people who took part in the gathering are likely to remember always.