Santa's Magical Booth, the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for children visiting The Duke Shopping Mall in Republic Street, Victoria, Gozo, to tell Santa Claus what they wanted for Christmas, raised €650 for Puttinu Cares.

Although each session was limited, 250 children eagerly waited to first make their donation and then go in line to enter the magical booth with a telephone, enabling them to speak directly with the man from Lapland. To make the experience more authentic, there were elves and different animation characters, to mention a few: the magical fairy, Olaf the Snowman, Willy Wonka and more, apart from highly realistic snow effects. Each child was given some sweets and a gift on leaving the booth.

This was one of the initiatives of the owners and management of The Duke to raise funds for this charity. The Administrator of The Duke Shopping Mall, Maria Farrugia, thanked all those involved, who ensured Santa's Magical Booth was an unqualified success:

"Word spread around quickly about Santa's Magical Booth and we went to great lengths to ensure the experience for the children was as authentic as possible. This is an attraction that will not be a one-off and we hope that charities like Puttinu Cares - in which children are benefiting from contributions by other children - will also benefit during the coming Christmas season."

Santa's Magical Booth was one of many attractions at The Duke over the Christmas Season, including an on-line Advent Calendar on The Duke Shopping Mall Facebook page, a Loyalty scheme rewarding early Christmas shoppers; and live animation on weekends and during key public holidays in the run-up to Christmas.