Family Information Service Christmas Party Report
2 December 2025
On Tuesday 2 December 2025, the Family Information Service hosted two family Christmas parties at Barry Memo Arts centre. These were free Christmas parties for families living within the Vale of Glamorgan. We were joined by multiple partner organisations within the Vale of Glamorgan who all provided games and activities for the families to enjoy. This gave them the opportunity to engage with families about their service. We were also delighted to have entertainment from Barry Library, who provided a short session of songs in our preschool party. DJ Stirling provided music and games during our after-school party. Santa also made appearances in both parties and greeted families at our Santa Grotto which was also free of charge for all who attended.
The event was split across two sessions due to high demand from families and to ensure a safe environment for all. The first party was for families with children 0-3 years and our second party for children of all ages. 321 individuals (161 adults & 160 children) attended the first party, and 394 individuals (175 adults & 219 children) attended our second party. These numbers are both well above our targets of attendance but also reflect the high need for events like this within our local area. We used the main hall of the Barry Memo Arts Centre for our partners to provide activities, and we used the café area for Enfys Reuse, Santa’s cause and face painting. We had our Santa’s grotto set up in the ticket office (Thanks to Julia Sky & Jo Jones from the Play Team). Organisations provided activities relevant to the audience attending and while we used the centre area for soft play in the first session, it was used for a disco area in the second session.
This year we managed to secure funding from Welsh Government Warm Spaces, to subsidise the event. This allowed us to provide free snacks and drinks for all those who attended the events. The café was open for refreshments throughout the two sessions, and providers were offered hot drink vouchers. Upon entrance, we provided a programme to every family, and it included the name and contact details of every service provider who attended.
Promotion
We created a poster to promote the event and shared it to our social media. We also promoted it to social services professionals, our families signed up to The Index for Children with Disabilities or Additional Needs, families receiving Flying Start provision and all providers attending and our partners. We used the platform ‘ticket source’ to book tickets as it is a free platform, had been used by other event organisers and allowed us to easily track ticket allocation. We also continued our use of combined QR codes this year, so instead of one QR code per guest, we used one per booking which improved our admission speed.
Attendance
We are thrilled that so many families had the opportunity to attend our event, and we welcomed a wonderful 715 individuals into our parties. Approximately 20% of the tickets booked were no shows for the first session and 21% for the second session, which is below our estimated 25% based off previous years.
A total of 22 organisations attended, with over 60 members of staff.
Feedback
We received feedback from 70 parents and 11 providers.
➢ Our average rating from parents was 4.8 stars out of 5 ➢ Our average rating from providers was 4.9 stars out of 5. ➢ 100% of parents would attend a similar event again. ➢ 100% of providers would attend a similar event again.
Parents were asked ‘What did you enjoy most about the party?’
“Santa was very friendly and took his time with the children. My daughter often struggles with characters, and he made such an effort to include her along with my son. We loved all the arts and crafts specially making decorations and reindeer food, had we have done that anywhere else it would have cost money I don't have to spare. Also loved the healthy fruit and water for the children this year and would like to see that again next year.” parent of a 6 and 7-year-olds. “We absolutely loved meeting Santa, I think he's the best one I have ever seen even as an adult and I am so glad he's the first one my son met. It was amazing to have a free morning out with so many activities and including a session from the libraries which I am going to go to in the New Year. I also found out about other groups and sessions as well as some adult learning classes for myself.”. Parent of 10-month-old. “The DJ was a great addition this year and gave it more of a party feel and the activities were all amazing, every table had something different and we took home so many things, not just ats and crafts but toothbrushes, books, parent guides and lots of information too. We enjoyed everything on offer especially having the snacks this year which was a great idea and it being free means you can go without worrying about hidden costs.” Parent of 3-year-old.
Providers were asked “What did you enjoy most about the event?’
“It was useful to be able to network with other professionals and providers at the event. The event was busy, and it was lovely to see all of the families enjoying themselves, having fun and being active. It was really well organised, thank you for all of the communications and information in the run up to the event.” “The engagement from the families was great, the range of information stands and opportunities to network and share resources. The activities and the effort made by the team and stall holders was wonderful and the families seemed to benefit.” “Such a great event each year. It really starts the Christmas season for us and gets us in the Christmas spirit. It's wonderful seeing the kids having so much fun , it's great for us as providers as we get to engage with the parents whilst the kids are doing an activity and the parents and carers we spoke to throughout the day were all so positive about the event, and its free, such a good event for the community!”
Parents were asked ‘How can we improve the party?’
“Was very busy as everyone was trying to stay in the main hall. Only aware of snacks when we went to see Santa, so others may have missed this, if they didn't see Santa.” – Parent of a 6 and 7-year- olds. “More activities for older children, I think my daughter was fine this year but next year she would want something a little more complex to keep her engaged.” – Parent of 10-year-old.
Providers were asked ‘How could the event be improved?’
“Appreciate that event is a treat for many children but even though there was a real effort to provide 'healthy snacks’ from FIS, almost every stall was giving out sweets or chocolates. Whilst parents can say no, it does sometimes create a pressure for them to all.” “I did think some better food options, either hot or cold food would be good for both stall holders, parents and children. Coming between 11 and 1 was lunch and 3.30 and 5.30 is straight from school and snack/teatime.” Five people also commented that introducing a gift from Santa would improve the party. They said they would be happy for this to come at an additional cost, as they feel it would be a nice extra touch to the event.
Summary
The overall goal of the FIS Christmas parties is for local families to enjoy a free Christmas party, have fun and find out what’s going on in the local community. It’s also an ideal opportunity to raise the profile of the new Vale Family Compass and the information and support we can provide to families. We can see that we have achieved these goals from the positive feedback we’ve had from parents, carers and professionals, the valuable connections made and the attendance on the day. We promoted the success of the event via local press, the Vale Council’s social media, website and internal Staffnet. We have also seen a rise in social media engagement to our Vale Family Compass Facebook page, including an increase of 45 followers between November 1 st and December 31 st , and the posts linked to the event had a combined overall reach of 24,419. Due to the success of the event, we do hope to organise a future event depending on funding and resources available to the FIS Team. If we were to plan another event, we would be sure to take on board all feedback from both families and providers. We would like to give a final thank-you to all our partners for their support, we would not have been able to provide this event without you.
Kelly Fenton – FIS Outreach and Information Officer.
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