Giving Rudolph and the other reindeers a day off, the jolly man in the red suit and white beard opted to come to town by train before heading up High Street to the children’s Christmas party in Cowdenbeath Leisure Centre.

The weather was more North Pole than West Fife but that didn’t stop the celebrations and Santa headed a candlelit procession to the ‘Green Square’ for the switching on of the lights with singer Carly Schiavone and Citizen of the Year Jimmy Scally.

Alex Haddow, treasurer of the Cowdenbeath Civic Week, which organises the town’s gala and also the Christmas festivities, said, “The Christmas party in the leisure centre was a huge success with over 250 kids there.

“We sold tickets and they got two and a half hours of entertainment with inflatables, bouncy castles, Cobblers the Clown and a disco, they all got a selection box each and their photo taken with Santa and then developed for them. That’s not bad for £1 entry.

“We had Radio West Fife in the Green Square opposite Partners and there were stalls and a mini Christmas fair for the first time, which proved very successful, and different choirs and bands performing throughout the day.” Alex added, “I took a wee break at one point and went to the Green Square area and it was chucking it down.

“I felt really sorry for the Kelty choir, who were all dressed in Victorian costume, as the street was completely empty.

“But, fair play to them, even though there was no-one around they were still singing and dancing in the rain and having a great time!” Alex said budget constraints meant they “tried something different” this year, by combining the lights switch-on and Santa coming to town into one day.

“It worked very well but it’s a long day. We started at 8am and it was the back of 7pm before we got finished. One of the new committee members said ‘I always thought it was the council that did this!’ and I thought ‘I wish!’” he laughed.

“I’d like to thank all the members of the public who turned out on Saturday on such a dreadful day and all the shops and businesses who donated to the raffle and helped out.” Although the wintry weather wasn’t kind, hot drinks and doughnuts helped keep the large crowds warm and, heartened by the success, Alex and the committee are already thinking about Christmas 2015! He said, “We’re thinking about an ice rink for next year as the bit at the back of the square, which was supposed to be a play area for kids, isn’t likely to happen due to budget cuts.

“It would have a dome over it, they’d supply the staff and skates so it could be feasible.

“We could spread it over two days with the Christmas fair outdoors and the ice rink on the Saturday, maybe some shows and the switch-on at night, and on Sunday we could have the ice rink again, maybe a car boot sale and stalls, and make a weekend of it.”