Between 80 and 90 people gathered for Jingle and Mingle Over Soup on Christmas Day at the Alliance Church and another dozen take-out orders were prepared.

It was the fifth edition of the event, created by the Cochrane Immigrant Services Committee to ensure everyone has somewhere to share the joy of Christmas.

Paul Singh, one of the organizers, says it was a very special two hours.

"We're so happy," says Singh, "Especially for one of the kids who was celebrating his first Christmas. He was three months old, and the youngest person there."

To the delight of families, Santa, Mrs. Claus, and one of their elves were there to greet people.

Members of Cochrane Fire Services also dropped by for a visit.

Singh says they were fortunate to once again have so many volunteers and sponsors step forward to make it possible.

He says it will be tweaked a bit for when it returns on Christmas 2023.