On Christmas night, there’s anticipation in the air as little (and not so little) ones up and down the country excitedly await the arrival of Father Christmas.
Cookies are laid out, alongside glasses of port and mince pies, as well as a carrot for his trusty reindeer. Then it’s a waiting game, as we all try to sleep and battle off intrusive thoughts like ‘has he come?’ until the morning.
Only this year, there’s an extra thing to get excited about.
NASA has revealed that early birds will be able to get a faint glimpse of Santa’s sleigh in the night sky as he passes over Manchester after completing his rounds on Christmas morning.
The world-renowned space agency has given us an exact time to look up at the stars to spot the main man himself and catch the glimmer of lights from his sleigh, and while typically, this tends to be tonight on Christmas Eve, NASA has said that this year, he’ll be moving too fast for the human eye to detect on 24 December.
ADVERTISEMENT
Instead, scientists are telling us to keep our eyes peeled for him in the early hours on Christmas Day morning itself.
NASA has revealed that early birds will be able to get a faint glimpse of Santa’s sleigh in the night sky / Credit: Pixabay
The lights from his sleigh will, coincidentally, appear at the same time as the International Space Station, which has become visible in the sky from 18 December, and will remain that way right through to 25 December.
ADVERTISEMENT
It will be visible to the naked eye at the specific time of 5:16am on Saturday 25 December, so if you’ve got some early risers in your house, why not get together and see if you can spot Santa for yourself?
To be sure it’s him, and not a plane, make sure there are no flashing lights and it doesn’t change directions.
You can also track Santa on NORAD this evening here.
Featured Image – Pixabay
Trending
Home Bargains has announced a special two-day closure of all UK stores
Emily Sergeant
Home Bargains has, once again, announced it’ll be closing all its UK stores on both Boxing Day and New Year’s Day this year.
And it’s to make sure staff get a ‘well deserved break’.
After what has been yet another busy year for the retail industry, many workers have been left feeling like they could do with a little extra time off, which is why Home Bargains is following on with what has become a now-annual tradition by shutting up shop on two bank holidays.
All of our stores will be closing for Boxing Day & New Years Day.
Announcing the move in a post on social media, the discount retailer confirmed: “All of our stores will be closing for Boxing Day and New Years Day. We would like to thank all our colleagues for how hard you have worked this past year, and want you to relax and enjoy the Christmas break with your loved ones.”
Of course, this isn’t the first time the retailer has kept its doors shut on bank holidays.
Many shoppers will recall it has made the same decision to give hardworking staff a break every year since 2019.
Explaining a little more about the decision taken to close all its stores, Home Bargains said: “As a family-run business, we know the importance of being together at Christmas with those we care about most, now more than ever.
“This is our way of saying thank you to our colleagues for their continued hard work and dedication.”
Featured Image – Geograph
Trending
Two Greggs in Manchester will be serving their breakfast menu in the evening next week
Emily Sergeant
Who says breakfast has to end at 11am?
In news that’s set to be music to the ears of breakfast lovers in Manchester, Greggs is giving them exactly what they want.
We all know that brunch is a ‘thing’ by now, so now it’s time for brinner to make a name for itself instead, as Greggs has teamed up with Heinz to bring its much-loved breakfast menu back for tea time, kicking off from 4pm onwards.
The move comes as a new survey has found that the majority of Mancs (69%) admit to enjoying eating breakfast food in the evening, saying it’s ‘convenient and comforting’ – even ranking breakfast as a ‘more important’ meal than tea, as well (38% vs 36%).
Two Greggs in Manchester will be serving their breakfast menu in the evening next week / Credit: Greggs (Supplied)
Greggs says it has ‘lost count’ of the amount of customers that have tried to order breakfast items after the usual cut-off time, especially in Greater Manchester.
But luckily for those breakfast-loving Mancs, they can finally get their favourite breakfast and sauce pairing long after the morning rush is over next… but only at two Greggs branches, and only for a very limited time.
On Wednesday 14 and Thursday 15 October, the Heinz x Greggs Brinner collab will be available at Greggs St Mary’s Gate and Greggs Oxford Road, from 4-7pm only.
“We’ve lost count of the number of customers who have tried their luck ordering breakfast after 11am, so when Heinz came to us with the idea of making Brinner a reality, it felt like the perfect excuse to give the people what they want,” explained Zoe Harris, who is the Customer Director at Greggs.
“And let’s be honest, a Greggs Bacon Roll just wouldn’t be the same without a squeeze of Heinz Tomato Ketchup.”
Georgina Pellant -
24th December 2021 
