Residents at a new housing development in Penllergaer are getting into the festive mood after the housebuilder gifted them a 30-foot Christmas tree.
Neighbours on the Parc Mawr development, which is being built by Bellway Wales, congregated on the green for drinks and food as the lights on the tree were switched on.
The developer donated the tree and lights and gave a residents’ community group a donation to pay for chocolate brownies, hot chocolate and glow sticks for the children.
Some of the money was used to pay for a professional performer to sing festive favourites including Wizzard’s ‘I Wish it Could be Christmas Every Day’ and Mariah Carey’s ‘All I Want for Christmas is You’.
Resident Claire Dowd, who has set up a Facebook group for residents at Parc Mawr, organised the community gathering and liaised with Bellway Wales over the event.
Claire said:
“I would like to thank Bellway Wales for being so receptive in helping to make this event happen. We organised a similar gathering last year and it was great fun. Now that we have done it two years in a row, we hope that it will be an annual event which will be in everyone’s social calendar here.
“I feel so lucky to have moved onto Parc Mawr where there is such a warm, close community and it’s great to share that feeling with people who have recently moved onto the development. We invited residents to bring along a bauble they had decorated and put it on the tree so that they feel they have played a part in creating this heart-warming spectacle.”
Rhodri Davies, Sales Manager at Bellway Wales, said:
“It was great to see such a big turn-out for this Christmas lights switch-on event. This was a gathering organised by Claire and her neighbours and we were more than happy to help out where we could to support their fantastic efforts.
“It is lovely to see that there is a vibrant community at Parc Mawr where neighbours have become friends and people are reaching out to each other to spread some early festive cheer.”