Cueing Santa Claus, jingle bells, and carolling - Christmas is right around the corner! As we wrap up thoughtful gifts and prepare delicious Christmas meals to celebrate the most wonderful time of the year, let’s not forget that the true spirit of Christmas is in the 'togetherness', where we share the love with everyone around us. 

This year, AirAsia has planned a little surprise for some very special guests to celebrate this blissful festival with us. [Spoiler alert: they seemed to like it!]

Last weekend, 20 AirAsia Allstars volunteered to help make this year’s Christmas an unforgettable celebration for very deserving little guests. Together with the airasia grocer team, the AirAsia Allstars volunteers arrived at Pentas & Co. kitchen in Kampung Baru early on Sunday morning to prepare a delicious end of year celebration befitting the stature of our beloved recipients. Using ingredients fresh from the farm via airasia grocer's network of farmers and suppliers, the food was prepared and shipped to Quill City Mall, Kuala Lumpur.

Now, it’s time to pick up our guests! With the help of airasia ride, we arrived at three different children's homes in Kuala Lumpur Pusat Aktiviti Kanak Kanak Chow Kit, KL Krash Pad Chow Kit and Rumah Impian, and picked up all underprivileged children from their care homes and drove them over to Quill City Mall to celebrate with us.

Juhaidah Jamal, Program Coordinator Yayasan Chow Kit said, “It’s been a difficult year for the children as most of them haven’t been able to leave the house due to COVID-19 restrictions. Now with vaccination and strict SOPs , it is nice for them to be allowed to get a fresh breath of air, especially as Christmas is approaching. 

Christmas celebrations were a little different for the kids these 2 years, but thanks to AirAsia, they were able to have a wonderful time again.’

Upon arrival, our guests were treated by a special carol performance by our fellow Allstar volunteers, followed by the feast prepared earlier that day. After that, they were surprised by a special visit by St. Nicholas himself! In his signature long white beard and joyful red costume, Santa Claus brought gifts sponsored by BORDERS Malaysia for each child, who were all extremely excited. 

After that, the children spent the rest of the afternoon playing games and had an overall jolly good time, before being escorted home.

Joanna Ibrahim, Chief Executive Officer of airasia grocer said, “We are extremely thankful for Yayasan Chow Kit and Rumah Impian, for allowing AirAsia to be part of their Christmas celebrations this year. Many of us have been fortunate enough to be accustomed to celebrate various festivals together with our friends and family every year, but the same couldn’t be said for many underprivileged people in our society. We should never forget how lucky we are, and always be ready to spread our love and support to those who need it most, like these kind and lovely children today,”

“We at airasia grocer would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Serving the underserved underpins the airasia grocer brand, and we hope it will inspire more people to look after those around you who are in need.”