Santa, Elsa and elves visit Oban
Santa, Elsa from Frozen, the Grinch and a handful of elves helped bring the magic of Christmas to children in Oban, Benderloch and Dunbeg.
A source close to the man himself said the reindeers are on furlough this year and Lapland is at tier zero, but a group of local people were more than happy to step in when they heard he wanted to pay a flying visit to Oban.
Accordingly, Santa toured the area in a specially decorated but socially-distanced sleigh – a finely-decorated Mazda frosted with snow, followed by an eye-catching Edinburgh Hackney Cab decked from boot to bonnet in twinkly lights with a stock of goodies.
The visit helped to put a smile on the faces of young and old at the end of a hard year, with lots of favourable feedback from the public.
Santa kept this visit strictly under wraps to help prevent crowds forming and was not collecting any money for charity. One of his Elves told The Oban Times that anyone who appreciated his efforts can contribute to Hope Kitchen in Soroba Road. Anyone who prefers to donate to another charity is welcome to do so.
Our Santa source said: ‘Above all, he just wants everyone to be as nice as they can to one another over this particularly difficult Christmas and to do everything they can to pull together as a community.’
Santa’s sleigh arrives in Oban.
The sleigh was kindly donated by Wayne and Leanne Johnson and family who run Retrophenia, George Street, where Santa left a stash of leftover sweeties. The Elf Mobile was borrowed from Steve Smith and Sandra Melnikaite and family who run AQ Group at Glencruitten Glen.
The aim was to spread a bit of fun and those involved stress that everything was kept within the guidelines at all times.
When Santa’s sweets began to run low, he went in to buy more from Lidl and the kind manager donated a few bags. So, too, did Tesco, and with Santa needing something to warm him after a long night out in the cold, takeaway firm Kebabish in George Street, gave him and his elves a cut-price dinner to top off a festive night.