Fans take festive fun to a new level
If you think you love everything Christmassy, just wait until you hear about the people we have come across
CHRISTMAS is a time for going large – and I don’t mean as a result of eating too many mince pies.
These Guinness World Record holders have taken Christmas to the extreme, undertaking some massive festive feats.
The record for the largest collection of Santa memorabilia is held by JeanGuy Laquerre of Canada. He had 25,104 different items when he set the record on November 30, 2010 and has been collecting since 1988.
The largest Christmas snowflake ornament measured 3.196m and was built at Universal Studios Japan in Osaka, on October 28, 2019, while the largest Christmas bauble ornament, measuring 4.68m in diameter, took pride of place in the Dubai Mall (Emaar Malls) in Dubai, UAE, on December 19, 2018.
Think you’ve asked for a lot this Christmas? The longest wish list to Santa consisted of 124,969 wishes, all gathered by Beijing Hyundai and Mohe Tourism Bureau in Mohe, Heilongjiang, China, from December 19 to 25, 2017.
You’d need a good head for heights to sit on the knee of the world’s largest Santa. Measuring 21.08m tall, 9.18m wide and 12.62m deep, he was built by Municipality of Águeda, Portugal, on December 12, 2016.
Arjuna Ranatunga Social Services in Colombo, Sri Lanka had to find a lot of lights for its largest artificial Christmas tree – a staggering 72.1m tall – in December 2016.
The largest collection of snow globes – a flurry-tastic 4,059 in total – is owned by Wendy Suen in Shanghai, China, as verified on November 27, 2016.
The largest gathering of Santa Claus was achieved by 18,112 people in India during an event at Nagar Saktan Thampuran Ground, Thrissur, Kerala on December 27, 2014.
I bet it smells great inside the world’s largest gingerbread house, which has an internal volume of 1,110.1 m³. It was created by Traditions Club, Bryan, Texas, USA on November 30, 2013. There’s even a jumbo gingerbread man to match. Now all we need is a giant latte!
■ For more amazing facts and figures, see Guinness World Records 2022 (RRP £20)