AN EAGLEHAWK community facility has put on Christmas cheer for young and old, as it threw a party to end the year.
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Even Santa made it to the event, dashing through twice so meet the needs of two crowds, attending at different times for COVID-19 safety.
The big man's visit was just part of the fun at the Eaglehawk Community House Christmas party.
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House coordinator Tracey Clarke said the event was something nice, bubbly and colourful for the community after a dull year.
Ms Clarke said the house ran the party because so many normal Christmas events were cancelled. She said they wanted to bring back smiles in the community.
The response was overwhelming. Within hours of releasing an invitation flyer, Ms Clarke had people phoning about it.
"People [are] just looking for something to go to, something that is going on," she said.
"People are really wanting to see signs that things are going back to normal. They're looking for fun activities to go to."
Ms Clarke said people were slowly gaining confidence in coming back to the community house as restrictions eased and programs restarted.
She said while the community house closed down during the COVID-19 crisis, it produced more than 17,000 meals, helping thousands of people.
Ms Clarke said the house clocked up more than 25,000 volunteer hours during the pandemic in activities to support the community.
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