It was fun galore on the lawns of Public Buildings, where hundreds of children gathered last Friday for the National Assembly’s annual Christmas Party, an event to which they looked forward with great expectation.The occasion offered a fun-filled day of excitement, select music, games and lots to eat and drink. There was also face-painting, trampoline jumping and all the clean excitement associated with a children’s party.

And of course, there was the dominant presence of Santa Claus distributing gifts to literally every child present, in this the season of peace, joy and good cheer.
Joining the fun also were popular cartoon characters, Dora and others, much to the delight and amusement of the children.
The party brought together children drawn from the Sophia Care Centre; the Hadfield Street Drop-In Centre in Georgetown, the Mahaica Children’s Home and the Enmore-Hope Children’s Home on East Coast Demerara.
Fun started around noon as several groups of children, under the guidance of teachers and other caregivers cheerfully disembarked from buses specially detailed to transport them to and from the party.
There, they had the honour of meeting the Speaker of the House, Dr Barton Scotland who, in his brief remarks, extended Christmas greetings to them.
The children were also greeted by available Parliamentarians and staff of the National Assembly.
“It (the party) is part of our outreach programme, aimed at bringing Parliament to the children and raising awareness, and it’s also aimed at visibly showing the public that the Members of Parliament and National Assembly care about members of the public and would like to give back something. And what better time to give back than during the Christmas season,” Parliament’s Public Relations Officer Onieka Walton told the Guyana Chronicle.