Little Eva Bracken and her teacher Aisling Gallagher check with Santa to see who's on the naughty list on who's on the nice one in the igloo built by Child's Play in Mucklagh.

Call for help nets Mucklagh kids their igloo!

Published: Fri 23 Dec 2011, 9:30 AM

Last updated: Fri 23 Dec 2011, 9:45 AM

Pre-school children at Child's Play in Mucklagh got two happy surprises on their penultimate day before Christmas last Wednesday. First they got to see the playschool's fully built life-sized igloo made of milk cartons, made possible by generous last minunte milk carton donations following a call for help in this newspaper last week. To add to that excitement, on entering the igloo the children were greeted with presents by none other than Santa Claus. "They loved it," Aisling Gallagher from Child's Play said, explaining that on seeing the story in last week's Offaly Independent the pre-school got a call from Tullamore Dairies inviting them to take the cartons needed to complete the igloo build in time for end of term. "It was just magical," Aisling continued. "Their faces just lit up." Aisling and her family completed the igloo on Tuesday night last. Now outside the pre-school for all to see, the igloo can't be missed with its bright Christmas lights. It's a very different picture from last week, when the igloo was without a roof and the materials needed to build it. "Originally we thought 600 cartons would be loads," Aisling said last week, "but then we decided to make it larger so more children could fit in." Now Aisling plans to count exactly how many cartons were used in the construction of the igloo, so anyone looking to make a similar structure in the future will know exactly how many carton donations they will need. "You have to see it to believe it," she said.