Santa delivers Christmas treats to Harrogate families on all-electric sleigh thanks to Transdev
Families in Harrogate were treated to some early festive magic last week when Santa Claus arrived in town aboard a very modern sleigh – an all-electric bus.
In partnership with local community cafe The Joyful Brew, transport operator Transdev brought Christmas cheer to almost 100 families by hosting a special meet-and-greet with Father Christmas at Life Destiny Church in Starbeck.
The Joyful Brew, which operates from the church, is well known locally for supporting families when they need it most – from serving hot meals to providing a welcoming, safe space and running an open foodbank every Thursday.
On December 19, Transdev went all out for Christmas by decorating one of its Mercedes-Benz eCitaro electric buses from top to toe with tinsel, baubles and twinkling lights.
The bus was transformed into Santa’s very own all-electric grotto and delivered to Starbeck, where children and their families were invited on board to meet Santa himself.
From his festive seat, Santa chatted with children, listened to their Christmas wishes and made sure every one of them knew they were firmly on his Nice List.
Each child received a goody bag filled with sweets, chocolates and lollipops, along with a copy of Transdev’s Bright Sparks activity and story book.
A handful of lucky families also found a special ‘Golden Ticket’ in their bags, giving up to five family members free all-day travel on Transdev buses for a festive day out.
Alongside the celebrations, volunteers at The Joyful Brew distributed bags of free food from their in-house foodbank, continuing their mission to support anyone in the community who may be struggling.
Ashlie Minasian, Creative Designer and Santa’s Little Helper, said: “We decorated our new Harrogate electric bus head-to-toe in tinsel, baubles and twinkling lights, driven by our very own Mrs Claus.
"It looked amazing – even better once Santa got on board with his bag of treats to give away.
"It was a super afternoon, with the star on top being the amount of food and bathroom items we managed to donate.”
Tracey Cloggie, Transdev Office Manager, added: “It was a truly uplifting event to be part of.
"Welcoming local children and their families created such a special atmosphere.
"Seeing the joy on their faces as they met Father Christmas and received a gift was incredibly rewarding – I can’t wait to do it again next year.”
In addition to the Christmas bus event, Transdev also donated ten full family-sized Christmas hampers to the Harrogate Foodbank.
Distributed on December 18 at Life Destiny Church and The Joyful Brew, each hamper included everything needed for a traditional Christmas dinner – from a turkey crown and all the trimmings to mince pies, crackers and chocolate coins – plus a Golden Ticket and a pair of Transdev socks.
A volunteer from The Joyful Brew highlighted the heart behind the project, saying: “The café is a vehicle to do good, and the foodbank is always here for those who need it, but it’s the people here – especially Sarah – who are the true heroes.
"There’s a chalkboard inside that says, ‘Let’s thrive together, not survive alone – there’s always room at the table for you here’, and that says everything about what we’re trying to do.”