christmas

Ottery coffee shop Tickety-Boo has pledged to raise more funds for its chosen charity Exeter Leukaemia Fund with a special ‘mince pie week’.

From Tuesday 17 to Saturday 21 December, the coffee shop team will donate the price of a mince pie to ELF for each one bought by a customer. That’s £1.50 per mince pie!

Tickety-Boo chef Trystan Bridgman says “All our mince pies are made in the traditional way by our talented baker Lesley.

“We’re hoping that there will be huge demand for them so we can raise a good amount to add a festive boost to our ongoing fundraising for ELF...

A dedicated team of Christmas volunteers have spent over 3,000 hours creating a range festive displays and decorations bringing to life this year’s theme, which has taken inspiration from the well-known poem by Clement Clarke Moore, ‘Twas the night before Christmas.’

It’s all thanks to a dedicated team of volunteers at the National Trust’s Killerton, near Exeter, who start planning the theme, design and decorations at the start of each year.

Throughout 2019 the team have been busy creating festive decorations including stockings to hang by the fire in the Drawing Room and...

The festive season is upon us, and Exeter trampoline park and soft play operators iBounce have made a video worthy of rivalling Edgar the excitable Christmas dragon!

Starring Olaf the Snowman, the video cost a mere £7.50 in comparison to it's prime time counterpart's £7M mega-budget!!

In it, Frozen favourite Olaf is treated to the ultimate Christmas gift of 'belonging', thanks to a group of cute children who take Olaf under their wing on his first visit to iBounce. It may be cold and wet outside but this video is sure to warm your hearts at this special time of year! Share...

Festive cheer has been brought to Ottery with a Christmas tree grown by Otter Garden Centres less than two miles from the town centre.

The tree was put up outside the library in Silver Street by a team from the garden centre just in time for the town’s late night Christmas shopping event.

As before, the tree donation was managed by Ottery resident Richard Coley with representatives from Otter joining him to help decorate and add the all-important fairy lights.

Otter Garden Centres Branch Manager John Giblin, who was on hand helping to hang the baubles, said: “We...

They say you shouldn’t play with your food – but at Living Coasts this Christmas, that’s exactly what kids are being encouraged to do.

The coastal zoo’s Breakfast with Santa event features food, presents – and penguins.

Living Coasts spokesperson Phil Knowling said: “Children get a pancake to decorate. They can choose from things like banana, strawberries, chocolate drops, cream and syrup – they can draw a snowman or a penguin or Santa Claus himself – or they can just pile it all on and eat it!”

Santa will personally give every child a present, and then – as this is...

A DEVON care provider says it needs more staff to help look after the county’s elderly and vulnerable during the festive season, which is the most demanding time of year (December 2019).

Guardian Homecare, which delivers home care in the Exeter area, says the winter months can be the most hectic, as the cold weather can adversely affect service users.

Manager at Guardian Homecare, Catherine Porter says: “Pre and post-Christmas is our busiest time of the year, so we’re urging anyone out there, who is looking for a new career and is kind, honest and reliable, to get in touch...

Stagecoach South West have released their Christmas and New Year bus schedule detailing services over the holiday season.

To coincide with the start of late night shopping in Exeter, Stagecoach South West will be offering a '5 for a fiver' ticket, allowing five people to enjoy return travel on the Honiton Road Park and Ride for just £5 on Thursdays. Services will run from Exeter city centre to the Park and Ride until midnight, enabling people to make the most of the festive fun on offer in the city centre.

Services are set to finish slightly earlier on Christmas Eve, in...

Workplaces, schools, families, and friendship groups across the region are being urged to ‘Get Your Sparkle On’ by the NSPCC this Christmas to help protect children for whom this time of year may not be so joyful.

1 in 5 children in the UK suffer abuse, and every year, specially-trained counsellors from Childline answer calls from children suffering their darkest hour.

Community Fundraising Manager for the NSPCC in Devon, Alison Armer said: “Sadly, 1 in 3 calls to Childline this Christmas will go unanswered, and this fundraising campaign aims to bring a light to every...