It will be an extra special Christmas for an Enniskillen mother who won the ‘Christmas Doors of Enniskillen’ reuniting families competition.

Rita Cassidy’s 27-year-old daughter Chrissie will be flown home from the Netherlands with her Romanian fiancé Adrian and will celebrate Christmas in her home town, courtesy of Enniskillen Business Improvement District (BID) and Carefree Travel.

Enniskillen BID was established in January 2017 following a ballot which saw 82 per cent of voters say yes to 600 businesses paying a levy of 1.5 per cent of the rateable value of their business over the next five years.

It is estimated that a pot of £1.2 million will be available to be spent on initiatives aimed at boosting footfall and improving trading in the town.
The ‘Christmas Doors of Enniskillen’ marketing campaign is one of those initiatives.
“I saw the competition on the Christmas Doors of Enniskillen facebook page and I trusted it because it was supported by local businesses,” said Rita.

In her competition entry, Rita wrote: “I would love to see my daughter Chrissie Farmer and her fiancée Adrian Cepoi in Enniskillen during the Christmas holiday. I have only seen her twice over the last two years and due to financial difficulties she has had to come without her soulmate that we haven’t seen in over a year. They live in the Netherlands where she is at university and he works in a hotel kitchen. They have not got home for Christmas for years. We are a close-knit family and it would be the best Christmas present ever. As a single parent we developed a great bond.”

Rita is looking forward to greeting her daughter around midnight on December 23 and is excited about “having family time.”
The family will drink hot chocolate, eat home-made cookies and play board games on Christmas Eve and will enjoy a turkey dinner with all the trimmings on Christmas Day.
“Chrissie met Adrian when they both worked on a cruise ship. They came home and worked in Belfast for a while but felt that the opportunities just weren’t there, so they travelled to the Netherlands where she got the opportunity to study a degree in hospitality for £1,000 per year, which she could never do at home because of the high cost,” Rita explained.
She added: “Chrissie is so excited and she’s going to cram a lot into the two days at home.”

Enniskillen BID Manager Noelle McAloon said: “We wanted to bring some extra magic to Enniskillen this Christmas as we are aware that many families do not get the opportunity to celebrate Christmas together. We are so thrilled that our innovative Christmas Doors of Enniskillen marketing campaign is giving Enniskillen families the best Christmas gift they could ask for by bringing someone special home to their door in association with Carefree Travel, Enniskillen.”