Norden pulling out all the stops for Christmas 2020

Date published: 01 December 2020

A brand-new Christmas tree was installed and switched on in Norden on Friday evening (27 November) to complement the already existing ones at Norden War Memorial and Norden Jubilee Park.

Located at Green Mount / Pargate Chase on Edenfield Road, the third tree was installed on behalf of Rochdale In Bloom and has been sponsored by H Bell and Sons.

Paul Ellison, who organised the event as chairman of Norden Environmental & Economic Village Association (NEEVA) and a representative of Rochdale In Bloom, said: “A big thank you to H Bell and Sons for their continued support.

“Also, many thanks to Special Branch Tree Surgery for helping and a big thank you to Firefly Integrated Solutions for sponsoring NEEVA this year, which goes towards the community Christmas tree in Norden Jubilee Park, and other decorations throughout Norden.

“It's great to see the businesses in our village making a fantastic effort with decorating their shop windows and we even have two brand-new LED lamppost decorations.

“When you enter Norden, we just wanted to bring some extra Christmas joy and smiles to residents and passers-by. The village this year is looking fantastic.”

With the annual Christmas lights switch-on cancelled for Norden village this year, along with the rest of the borough, local community groups and businesses have come together to still make Christmas 2020 magical for residents.

The weekend of 21-22 November gave the first glimpse of the festive season, with decorations and lights starting to go up throughout the local village.

Bauble wreaths were provided by Norden Community Primary School and bunting from Whittaker Moss Primary School and PTA, and Cutgate Preschool.

More recently, on Monday 23 November, Christmas trees were installed on shop fronts from Marl Pits Garden Centre.

There are also plenty of festive activities going on in Norden this December, like the Norden Naughty Elf Hunt by Whittaker Moss Primary School and PTA, the Norden Santa Hunt by Amber Pets, and Norden's biggest ever giveaway organised by Steanne Hair, with one lucky winner offered a prize from businesses in Norden.

• https://www.facebook.com/neevanorden/posts/3539208616175941

One for families to get involved with - Santa has sent 14 elves on a special recon mission around Norden village, can you help Santa find his elves? Between 2 - 31 December, find as many as you can, then hand in your form to either Norden Co-Op or Carousel Cards for a special treat as part of Norden’s Naughty Elf Hunt.

• www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/events/66192/norden-naughty-elf-hunt

Not only are elves hiding, but you can go on the hunt for Santa too with the Norden Santa Hunt running from 7 - 21 December. Raising money for the local RSPCA branch, you can purchase a sticker from Amber Pets – priced at £2.50 each – then stick it in your window. You can then leave a clue to your sticker’s whereabouts on the Norden Santa Hunt Facebook page.

• www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/events/66191/norden-santa-hunt

One more Christmas surprise is still yet to come for the village. For updates on all things Christmassy in Norden, visit the NEEVA Facebook page: www.facebook.com/neevanorden/