Five things to do this week

Children"s Craft Classes at Ballinahown Craft Village As part of the Ballinahown Irish Designer Craft Village Winter Wonderland, the village is to host children"s craft-making classes for four consecutive weekends from this Saturday, November 29. Each Saturday, there will be three time slots with two classes running at each time - one in the morning and two in the afternoon. After the hour-long class, children will have the opportunity to visit Santa"s kingdom, which will be themed with his elves and helpers. For further information, the Ballinahown Irish Designer Craft Village can be contacted on 090 6430222. Pick up your Athlone Gift Vouchers Participating in the Athlone Gift Voucher scheme, which was launched recently by the town"s Chamber of Commerce, is a great way to support local business. Vouchers are available in denominations of €20, €50, and €100, and are redeemable in over 50 shops, restaurants, hotels, salons and other businesses in the town. You can purchase the vouchers, and see the full list of participating shops and businesses, at Athlone Credit Union or online at: www.athlonechamber.ie Watch Athlone eateries on the small screen! This Sunday, November 30, not one but two local restaurants are due to make an appearance on RTÉ One. The camera crew behind RTÉ"s "Pobal" series was in Athlone recently to film a segment at the Kin Khao Thai restaurant on Abbey Lane. Janya Lyons, who operates the restaurant with her husband Adam, was interviewed about her experiences as a Thai woman living in Ireland. Meanwhile, "The Restaurant" series also continues at 8.30pm on Sunday, as another celebrity is faced with the task of serving up a meal to a demanding audience in the show which is filmed at the Wineport Lodge restaurant in Glasson. Send in your Santa letters With Christmas drawing near, the time has come for boys and girls to start writing those all-important letters to Santa! Here at the Westmeath Independent we are inviting children to send in your letters telling us what presents you"d like to receive, whether you have been good this year, and why it is always important to share. You can even include a photo if you like! We will print some of the letters and they will be collected by Santa"s helpers for delivery to the man himself. Post your letter to: LETTERS TO SANTA, c/o Westmeath Independent, 11 Sean Costello Street, Athlone. Santa at Golden Island Speaking of Santa, he will be opening his post office in the Golden Island Shopping Centre this Saturday, November 29, at noon. Mums and Dads can take photos of their children with Santa at no cost or, if they prefer, they can have photos taken by Spectra Photo at the centre.