Our Christmas Appeal

When a child is diagnosed with cancer, it becomes more important than ever to spend time together as a family, make memories, and have some fun and escapism from the day-to-day reality.

Every year, Candlelighters provides a very special Christmas party for children with cancer and their families. There are costumes and characters, meet and greets with Santa, presents, food, music, games, and lots of happiness and fun. All of this helps to make Christmas truly magical for children with cancer. Our Christmas party is cherished by families for providing an opportunity to spend precious time together, make memories, and for children to enjoy the wonder of Christmas.

This year, we’re holding the first Christmas party since before the pandemic. 14-year-old Daniel and his family attended the last Candlelighters Christmas party in 2019. Daniel’s mum, Emma, said it was a ‘perfect day’.

Daniel lives in Todmorden with his parents and four siblings Rian, Erin, Ava, and Noah. In 2018 he was diagnosed with a brain tumour. A surgery to remove the tumour was successful but less than a year later he was diagnosed with a further two brain tumours requiring further surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy. Soon after starting treatment, Daniel was diagnosed with Li Fraumeni syndrome, a rare genetic disorder which increases the risk of developing cancer. Emma describes Daniel’s diagnosis as ‘life-shattering’ for their family and through his treatment he had to brave sight loss, a seizure, paralysation, being unable to speak or walk, and terrible mouth ulcers and sores which prevented eating and swallowing.

Daniel and his family attended our Christmas party the day after he finished his treatment. Emma says, ‘We had the most wonderful day together as a family, with everyone from Candlelighters there too. We had only seen the team on the ward and in clinic, usually when Daniel was at his worst, so it was fantastic to see everyone in a happier environment.’

Arriving at the party they were greeted by Storm Troopers and Ewoks which ‘Put a huge smile on everyone’s faces, and the smiles continued throughout the day!’ according to Emma.

Emma continued, ‘We caught up with many of the other families that we had met and spent a lot of time with on the ward and there was so much going on to entertain the children including sweets, dancing, face painting and games.’

‘At the time we still had no idea if Daniel’s treatment had worked, so it was a day to make memories, all the time in the back of our minds that this could potentially be our last Christmas all together. All the children got the most thoughtful presents, and we got my most favourite photo of us all together with Father Christmas. I can honestly say it was a perfect day.’

Daniel is now almost three years post-treatment and is doing well. Every year, Candlelighters attempts to make Christmas as magical as possible for children like Daniel and their families. It’s these happy memories which last a lifetime and give children an escape from cancer, just for a while. It costs £25 to send a child to our Christmas party. This year, we’re asking supporters for your help to make Christmas magical for children with cancer by funding a child’s Christmas party place. If you’d like to support us in doing this, you can make a donation here.

Our stories

Company of the Month… Absolute Warehouse Services!
06-01-23Our stories • Posted by Gill Davenport
We are so pleased to announce that our latest Company of the Month is Absolute Warehouse Services! Absolute Warehouse have been supporting Candlelighters since 2018 and have donated an amazing £19,000 during that time. Most recently, they sponsored the Candlelighters Christmas Party for the second time by making a very generous donation of £5,500 and …
Company of the Month… Lovell Eastern!
15-12-22Our stories • Posted by Gill Davenport
We are so pleased to announce that our latest Company of the Month is Lovell Eastern! Charity of the Year partners Lovell Eastern have so far raised a fantastic £8,590 for Candlelighters by undertaking all sorts of fabulous fundraising, including: Robert Adams, Regional Managing Director at Lovell Homes, said, “Support for local charities is always …
Company of the Month… Intuitive Business Intelligence
08-11-22Our stories • Posted by Gaby Stead
We are so pleased to announce that our latest Company of the Month is Intuitive Business Intelligence! During Childhood Cancer Awareness Month in September, Intuitive got stuck in raising funds and awareness for children with cancer. They got involved in our 150-Mile Challenge, even putting their own twist on it by splitting into teams and …
Candlelighters is GOING GOLDEN for Childhood Cancer Awareness Month
27-09-22Our stories • Posted by Gaby Stead
Childhood Cancer Awareness Month (CCAM) takes place in September each year, with children’s cancer charities worldwide taking the opportunity to increase awareness of childhood cancer to raise vital funds to support their work. Around 1,800 children are diagnosed with cancer every year in the UK with 150 children diagnosed in Yorkshire alone. Receiving a cancer …
Company of the Month… D&D London!
16-09-22Our stories • Posted by Niamh Sedgwick
We are so pleased to announce that our latest Company of the Month is D&D London! D&D London first began supporting Candlelighters in July by asking customers to add a £1 donation to their bill, across their four Leeds restaurants, Crafthouse, Angelica, Issho and East 59th. Across the four restaurants in July, they raised £1,185. …
Candlelighters’ Annual General Meeting (AGM)
13-09-22Our stories • Posted by Niamh Sedgwick
Candlelighters’ Annual General Meeting (AGM) 28/09/22 – 28/09/22 About this Event You’re invited to our Annual General Meeting When: Wednesday 28th September 2022. Where: We are hoping that this will be held in person at The Square. This will be confirmed around a week before the event. Time: 6:00-6:30 (Can meet from 5:30 for refreshments) …
Harrogate Candlelighters announce their annual main event!
19-08-22Our stories • Posted by Becky Pearey
The wait is now over….on behalf of Harrogate Candlelighters we would like to invite you to our annual main event, the first in four years! Saturday 26th November 2022 ‘NARNIA’ at the Pavilions of Harrogate The Pavilions of Harrogate are being transformed into a fabulously magical winter Narnia scene. There’s an exquisite menu of contemporary cuisine, together …
Company of the Month… Optm!
29-07-22Our stories • Posted by Gaby Stead
We are so pleased to announce that our latest Company of the Month is Optm! They have recently hit the incredible milestone of £150,000 raised since they became part of the Candlelighters family eight years ago. The amazing people at Optm have taken on some fabulous challenges and events to raise funds, from walking Snowden …

Your stories

Allen’s Story
30-01-23Your stories • Posted by Honey Best-Barton
Allen Hart from Leeds became involved with Candlelighters after we supported his family throughout his daughter, Laura’s, diagnosis and treatment for Wilms Tumour. Laura sadly passed away in 2007 aged just three. Allen began fundraising before Laura died and has continued ever since, making him one of our longest-standing fundraisers.   It all began with Allen …
Supporter Spotlight: Leeds Paediatric Dentistry Team
27-10-22Your stories • Posted by Gaby Stead
Today we’d like to say a huge thank you to the Leeds Paediatric Dentistry Team who took on the Yorkshire Three Peaks to raise funds for Candlelighters! Claudia Heggie from the team said, “As a children’s dentistry team, we work with oncology teams to make sure that children have healthy mouths ahead of their cancer …