Reddit helps a teen with Down syndrome get his Christmas wish.

Reddit helps a teen with Down syndrome get his Christmas wish

Parents will go to great lengths to make their children happy, some like this mum will even hit community sites to make their kid’s wishes come true. She visited Reddit’s “random acts of Christmas” page where volunteers offer their services to help make the festive season as happy as possible. And some requests are easier to fulfill than others.

The mum posted a message explaining her son Cameron, who has Down syndrome, had one wish and that was to meet his favourite superhero Iron Man. So she asked if there was a superhero costume player prepared to come to Kentucky to pay her son a visit …

The only problem was that although a number of charitable souls were willing to help, none of them were able to make the journey. But nothing was going to stand in this mum’s way, and so she came up with a Plan B. She decided that if Iron Man couldn’t come to Kentucky, then a video message would do the trick! And numerous offers soon followed on the community site …

So the chosen volunteer was given a script to follow and played the part, in costume, perfectly, so as we can see in the video Iron Man congratulates his fan for being such a good boy this year, and even promises to put in a good word with Santa. Cameron was totally wowed, and in turn recorded his own message for Iron Man ….proving his mum was right to believe in the magic of Christmas…

Santa’s journey followed online

Here’s something for the millions of impatient little ones wondering if Santa has already been to their house: the American army obviously has privileged relations with the man in red, and can track him, in real time, as he travels around the world delivering presents. NORAD, the North American Aerospace Defense Command has set up a special online platform for children so they can follow Father Christmas on his journey.

And NORAD has of course taken to social networks to ensure children are kept updated, minute by minute … the military organization has set up this Facebook page and a Twitter account, explaining how, and with what tools, you can track down Santa no matter what time it is and no matter where he is.

And it’s not just NORAD trailing the hero of the day … this year Google is putting its mapping service to excellent use so web users can follow Father Christmas via Google Map and Google Earth. And for all those little cherubs still waiting for Santa to deliver their presents, the search engine has also set up an interactive website where kids can take a look around Santa’s bustling village and see the elves at work as they hurry to fill up their boss’ sack…

And finally, to ensure web users are getting precise and detailed information, Google is updating Santa’s dashboard, indicating his exact location, his next stop and how many presents he has already delivered down chimneys.

Secret Santa online

Every year during this festive season, community site Reddit connects web users with its gift exchange program. Around 60 000 people from all over the world have signed up to “Secret Santa” 2012 which involves sending a gift to a complete stranger. Some presents are somewhat outlandish; this web user for example was given a moustache dog toy, whereas this blogger, well she received a box of potatoes…

Hideous sweaters to celebrate Christmas

Embroidered snowmen, a Hanukkah menorah surrounded by tinsel, and a Christmas tree complete with lights and decorations. These are just some of this year’s best sellers on “My Ugly Christmas Sweater.com”: knitwear that’s all the rage over the festive season in the US, where “ugly Christmas sweater parties” have become increasingly popular in recent years.

Video of the day

There’s no denying it, there’s no escaping it … Christmas is now upon us and people seem to be forgetting the festive classics to go … Gangnam Style… the family that lives here used over 85 000 lights to decorate their home, and worked hard for 20 hours to prepare this amazing lights show and ensure it was in perfect time with the global mega hit by south Korean singer Psy…