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by Winnie Yeoh, Journalist The Star Northern

CHRISTMAS celebrations have started early for 58 children from a daycare centre in Sungai Ara in Penang.

The children, aged between seven and 12 years old from Melody School Care, were invited to the Tea Party with Doraemon and Friends event organised by Queensbay Mall yesterday.The children were heard chanting ‘Doraemon, Doraemon’ over and over again at the centre atrium and they cheered and clapped when the five characters of the cartoon – Doraemon, Nobita, Shizuka, Giant, Suneo – and a Santarina made their appearance on stage.

Centre headmistress Christy Low said the event was a great outing for the children as many of them were fans of the cartoon characters.


“The children were looking forward to today’s event and being able to meet their favourite cartoon characters certainly made the day for them.

“Not just the children, even we teachers are excited about meeting the cute characters which we read so much about when we were children,” she said.

The children were able to take group photographs with the characters on stage. Ten lucky children were selected to dance with the characters and another 10 were chosen to play the game ‘Flip and Match’ on stage.

Every child also received a free Doraemon plush toy along with a RM5 cash voucher and a copy of The Star’s Kuntum magazine as Christmas gifts from CP Group executive director Datin Jane Yeo and mall general manager Selina Ng.

The Queensbay Mall Chicken Rice Shop also sponsored chicken rice to the children.

Ng said the programme was an effort to create a better festive mood with the current economy turmoil.

“We want to make it a very memorable experience for the children and shoppers,” she said.

“We do not mind spending a bit more to bring the characters in from Japan in the season of giving and sharing,” she said.

The mall has also sponsored 2,000 copies of Kuntum that will be distributed to kindergartens, orphanages and churches.

Doraemon and friends will be at the mall to greet shoppers from now to Dec 25 with activities like games, a colouring contest and Christmas Eve and Christmas Day stage shows..