“I just couldn’t sit there on Christmas Day, eating a big meal knowing someone else is out there with nothing”
Co Down’s big-hearted ‘Tattooed Santa’ is gearing up for another busy Christmas Day after serving up almost 200 hot dinners and gifts to the elderly, homeless and families in need last December.
Chris from Bangor – aka the Tattooed Santa – began his free Christmas Day dinner appeal in 2021 during the Covid-19 pandemic when households were unable to mix.
When this meant that Chris and his family were left with a fully prepared Christmas dinner and no-one to eat it, he decided to put all the food to good use by offering it to those in need.
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The following year he dished out 32 free dinners with all the trimmings, cards, crackers and selection boxes, which rose to 56 in 2023 and 198 last Christmas.
To-date, the dad-of-two has spent around £20,000 from his own pocket for the meals he dishes out from the kitchen of the home he shares with his partner and two young daughters.
But demand has risen so sharply this year that several local businesses have generously stepped in to help fund Chris’ annual appeal.
This year he already has 230 requests for Christmas Day dinners and while he usually delivers them all personally, he’ll be getting help from the Welcome Organisation to ensure they reach homeless people in Belfast, just like last year.
He told Belfast Live: “I’m once again doing the free Christmas dinners and after last year hitting a massive 198 meals I have started the The Tattooed Santa Christmas Appeal 2025 for the first year yet.
“I have a lot of collection buckets out in local businesses and two events planned, one of which is an MMA event and a charity football event in Newtownards. Every donation helps me buy food containers, gifts, and all the little things that make Christmas special for those who are struggling.
“It wasn’t my idea to do the appeal but I was approached this year by a woman I helped last year. She had lost her son and her husband and I turned up last Christmas Eve with meals and gifts for her and her 12-year-old son. She was massively taken back as she wasn’t expecting it as they were booked through someone who knew her.
“She contacted me just before Halloween to say that her son who sadly passed away went all out to decorate her house for Halloween and she was continuing to do it in his memory. She wanted a charity to donate to and decided to do it for me. I told her it wasn’t something I normally did as I wasn’t a charity and usually self-fund the dinners.
“But after speaking with her on the phone and because the numbers had risen so high last year I agreed. And from there the Tattooed Santa Christmas Free Christmas Dinner appeal started.”
He added: “This will be my sixth year doing the dinners and I’m also helping eight children this year with presents who otherwise would wake up on Christmas Day with nothing. It just seems to grow year in, year out and as always I will do my absolute best to accommodate everyone I can after last year’s massive 198 dinners.
“I just couldn’t sit there on Christmas Day, eating a big meal knowing someone else is out there with nothing and it also teaches my daughters an important lesson that Christmas is for giving, not just receiving. My goal is to have everything organized by the start of December so I can focus on cooking and spending time with my family!”
Chris is grateful to be receiving help from Crossgar poultry firm, GB Poultry, who are donating 23 of the 38, 20 pound turkeys he is ordering, with the rest 15 being heavily discounted.
Tesco at Bloomfield Shopping Centre has also donated to the fundraising effort while two local businesses, Karen Finlay of Betsy’s Best Bakes and Rebecca Rankin from Reb’s Kitchen, have also generously offered dessert cookies and bakes.
Chris is now calling on people to nominate worthy recipients of his Christmas dinners, via his Facebook page or by emailing chrismdalzell@live.co.uk.
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