Coulsdon’s Yuletide and new Community Partnership
This year’s Christmas event, Coulsdon’s Yuletide Magic, was put on by a new group of volunteers who are creating the new Coulsdon Community Partnership.
On Saturday, 3rd December Coulsdon hosted a Christmas Market in Brighton Road, with funfair rides and a stage, indoor mini-market and Santa’s Grotto and raffle in aid of the Christmas lights.
Thank you to all involved and those who came to Coulsdon, there was a great atmosphere and many people enjoying themselves throughout the day. Fine Toad was a Gold Sponsor, with Wendy and Eleanor immersed in making it all happen.
Woods Jewellers sponsored the outdoor market, with many locally-based stallholders including some of Coulsdon’s high street businesses: Streeter Marshall, Token Accessories, Art and Craft Valley, Puzzle Kitchens, BCSS and Therapy and Life Centre. We really missed Coulsdon Home Hardware having a stall due to family commitments, though they became a stage sponsor and supplied extra Christmas lights for the Grotto, collection buckets and more, for which we are extremely grateful. Thanks also to Ian Parker, Coulsdon Town Councillor, for helping and support with Croydon Council matters.
We would also like to thank previous organisers for their input and support as well - you know who you are!
Cozy Glow sponsored the fabulous Christmas tree, supplied lights and much more for Santa’s Grotto, organised the market stalls, coordinated licensing and risk assessments and hosted the Yuletide Magic webpage. Thank you Ashley and Kristian.
Gary at Advanced Print did an awful lot of printing for us, from initial flyers to road closure notices for local residents and signs for the day, to the programme leaflets, and all the signs and banners and co-ordinated stewards. Advanced Print also allowed to use the shop as a base. Thank you Gary and everyone who supported from Advanced Print.
We also benefitted from advertising in CR5, thanks to Lucy and other residents magazines; ECRA, Coulsdon West and HADRA, supporting online too.
Coulsdon Club hosted our Santa’s Grotto in their garden and mini-market at the back of the club - sorry if you didn’t find it- we will do better signs next year, if we do that again!
Santa seems to have proved a massive hit, and we were overwhelmed with walk-ins on the day, rushing about for more gifts from our local shops, several times. We are very grateful to him and his assistants for all their hard work on the day and before too and Jo of Hallways for sponsoring the grotto, providing all the gifts.
We hosted local charities and enterprises: New Moon Rescue, The Hive Coulsdon, The Hygiene Bank, and Willow Learning for Life raising awareness of these great local causes.
Many thanks to our local Air Cadets who helped at our Information Tent promoting their Christmas Tree sales and our raffle and Isabell at Bella Art Caffe for supporting and fuelling our First Aiders and others.
The stage, built by Surrey Scaffolding, gave us entertainment all day, organised by John from Leading Note, with local music acts and performers; Coulsdon C of E Primary School Choir, Les Huitson, Chipstead Valley Primary School Choir, Stagecoach, Bruce Harman, John D Hastings, Mike Alexander, Canine Gymkhana, The 508s, S.I.N.G. and Best Chilled. Thank you to those who took to the stage and especially to John, who did one of the longest shifts on the day, as well as Charlie King from ECRA who was out and about from 4.30am! Mike Corner provided the sound and lighting for us, supported by Matthew from MC Will Writing Services for which we are very grateful also. Thanks to Keith Watkins, CWRA and Friends of Rickman Hill Park. for helping with the stage flooring, donated by Jewson, Coulsdon, and stewarding.
As well as sponsors; Cozy Glow, Coulsdon Club, Puzzle Kitchens, Woods Jewellers, Fine Toad, Coulsdon Osteopathic Clinic, Built by Blueprint, Coulsdon Home Hardware, Therapy and Life Centre, Streeter Marshall, Pindi Food and Wine and ECRA, many other local businesses and individuals also supported in many ways, advising customers of the event, putting up posters, sharing online posts, donating financially, and giving prizes for the raffle etc
Stewarding with us were local shop owners Gary from Advanced Print, Rajan from Puzzle Kitchens and Kirsten from Get Fired, Nikki from The Hive, Gill Hickson and Charlie King from ECRA, members of Selsdon and Sanderstead Rotary Club and members of Eleanor’s Emerald BNI group, Rachel from BackUp Administration, Dwayne from Bailey Ahmed Business Recovery and Dave from True Potential..
It really felt like the community coming together, which is the whole idea of the Coulsdon Community Partnership and Fine Toad’s ethos.
Massive thanks to everyone who came down and supported, acts that performed, businesses, residents and visitors that endured the road being closed and buses on diversion. We genuinely did try and reach everyone affected but we know some felt missed-out and we’d appreciate hearing how best to avoid that next year!
We were delighted to have a real mixture of donations via the Just Giving page and directly, from local people and businesses, especially Admiral Cars, Bliss Caffe, Cars 4 You Direct, Coulsdon Osteopathic Clinic, Coulsdon West Residents Association, Doble Motorcycles, Domino’s, Jays Electrical, Portal Property Maintenance, Precious Moments, Roma’s Hair Salon, Vidette UK Ltd and Walter & Mair, who all made generous donations. The money raised helps cover the costs of putting on the event and Coulsdon’s Christmas Lights.
Eleanor headed the committee for Yuletide Magic and has put in the application for Couldson Community Partnership to obtain charity status, with the intention of organising more events and supporting all that goes on in our town together. In the meantime, we’ve had the support of ECRA and Selsdon and Sandersted Rotary Club to deal with applications such as the road closure, parking suspension and various licenses and stewarding on the day.
If you want to get involved at all or just find out what’s in planning or make suggestions and meet some of us, please join us on Facebook for now, or let us know so we can invite you to the next meeting, which is likely to be in January 2023.
Contact us, Wendy or Eleanor
