A CALENDAR created to celebrate When You Wish Upon A Star's 21st birthday has had a "great response" – but more need to be sold to help ill children go to Lapland.

The calendar was created to commemorate the 21st anniversary of the charity, which is based in Basford and grants wishes to children with life-threatening or terminal illnesses.

Its next big project is to send 100 children from the East Midlands to Lapland on December 14.

Children and their families will get to meet Santa and his reindeer, go on sleigh rides and visit the Christmas letter post office in Lapland.

It costs the charity over £70,000 to take the children to Lapland for the day, and all proceeds from the calendar – which costs £5 – will go towards the trip.

Maggie Falconer, East Midlands community fundraiser for the charity, said: "We have had a great response to the calendar, but we still need to sell quite a few more.

"So far, we have sold nearly 200, but we had about 1,000 printed, so we have got quite a few more to go.

"The Lapland trip means so much to these children, as it gives them some time away from their routine hospital appointments to have fun in the snow and just be normal children for the day.

"It also means a lot to their parents to see the smiles on their little boy or girl having fun in the snow."

The 2012 calendar, which was released in October, features 12 children from the East Midlands who have had their wishes granted by the charity.

Lois Ladkin-Brown, aged five, stars as Miss July.

Her mother Cheryl Ladkin-Brown, said that Lois enjoyed the experience of being photographed.

"She absolutely loved it, and I was very proud to see her in the calendar," said Ms Ladkin-Brown, 33, of Stamford Road, West Bridgford.

"It's lovely and it really shows her cheeky side.

"I think it shows that even poorly children can still have the biggest smiles, which is nice."

Lois was diagnosed with leukaemia in August 2010 and had her wish to meet Santa and his reindeer granted on the Lapland trip last year.

She attends Abbey Road Primary School and is now in remission, but will undergo treatment for another year.

Ms Ladkin-Brown, who went to Lapland with Lois last year, said the trip was "absolutely amazing."

"From the time we got to the airport at 4am to the time we landed back in England, it was non-stop fun," she said.

"We went to meet Santa and all the children were totally and utterly dumbfounded.

"Lois started her treatment on Christmas Eve last year and was too ill to open any of her presents, so Lapland was like our Christmas.

"She loved every single second of it."

Ms Ladkin-Brown encouraged people to buy the calendar. "To see the look on the children and parents' faces when we saw Santa Claus was absolutely brilliant," she said.

"Every single child in that room totally forgot for a couple of minutes that they were poorly. It was just magical, it really was."

To buy a calendar for £5 (plus postage and packing) call the When You Wish Upon A Star head office on 0115 979 1720 or email fundraising@ whenyouwish.org.uk.