A GRAPPENHALL family had a Christmas they will never forget after their 18-month-old baby won free holidays until he's 18.

Wallace Walkden's family were surprised today, Tuesday, during their TUI Airways flight from Manchester to Lapland.

Just before take-off, the cabin full of passengers on their way to see Santa, were greeted by a spontaneous visit from everyone’s favourite elf Buddy who encouraged the whole aircraft to take part in a mass sing along to 'Santa Claus Is Coming to Town' at the top of their voices.

Appearing from behind the cockpit door and entertaining the plane, Buddy had a very special gift from Santa for one small passenger.

Wallace was gifted the ultimate Christmas stocking filler for many years to come – a golden boarding pass entitling him to an annual holiday every year until the age of 18.

The early Christmas present was to celebrate the inaugural flight on a new Boeing 737 MAX aircraft to Kittila, the Finnish gateway to Lapland which the aircraft is named after.

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This is part of the holiday company’s introduction of new aircraft over the next five years meaning TUI will soon have one of the youngest fleet’s in the sky - a fitting gift for the flight’s youngest passenger.

Jill Nye, director of customer TUI Airways said: “What a pleasure it was to create the ultimate Christmas moment for our customers on our special Lapland flight.

"We believe the holiday magic begins as soon as you board our aircraft, and our honorary crew member, Buddy certainly brought the Christmas experience to life - including an early gift from Santa. "Hopefully the golden holiday ticket will allow the Walkden family to create memorable moments for years to come.”

TUI Airways Moment Maker initiative aims to create thoughtful inflight experiences for customers based on tried and tested ideas from the crew to bring the festive feeling to life on board including mini future crew kits, to helping customers celebrate special occasions.