No car? No problem. Delivery elves replace Santa’s sleigh with bikes
A car-free lifestyle didn’t stop two women from delivering gift boxes to children in need
Panniers replaced Santa’s sack and a bike trailer acted as a sleigh for two Santa Claus Fund delivery elves last year — and they plan to do it all again this year.
Vera Teschow and her partner delivered Santa Claus Fund gift boxes in the city’s west end — with a twist. Rather than using a car or van, which they don’t own, they delivered gift boxes by bike.
“I think there’s really not much you can’t do on a bike, if you have the equipment,” Teschow said. “And an example like this really proves that. So people who think, ‘Oh, I can’t help out, I can’t help out with delivering something like this’ — well, you can.”
Teschow heard about the request for volunteers at her family’s church, and contacted the Star.
“I said, ‘Hey, we’re really keen to do it,’ ” Teschow recalled. “We’re car free, but we’ll deliver on our bikes.”
Teschow and her partner loaded up their bike panniers with two boxes per bag, with another 10 or so in the trailer.
“Obviously it’s not like a minivan, but we can certainly do a reasonable amount of deliveries in our area,” Teschow said. The pair delivered about 20 of the 45,000 boxes distributed each holiday season to kids in Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton, Ajax and Pickering.
Santa Claus Fund recipients receive a gift box with a warm shirt (toddlers get a fleece-lined tracksuit while newborn infants get a fivepiece set that includes onesies), a warm hat, warm gloves or mittens, socks, a toy, a book, cookies and dental hygiene items (aged 4 and up) inside.
It’s the only present many of the kids will receive this holiday season, which is why the gift boxes aim to cover the basics and then some.
Teschow said recipient families were surprised and happy.
“The kids were excited,” she said. “They weren’t always sure necessarily what was going on, but it was fun to see a friendly face and make that connection and wish them season’s greetings.”
All but one of the recipient families lived in apartment buildings, so they didn’t know the deliveries arrived via bike, Teschow said.
“With the bikes, we either had to lock them both and then we had to carry up all the panniers . . . or one of us would stay down with the bikes and the other person would go up and make the delivery,” Teschow explained.
“But next time we’re hoping to enlist our kids.”
Teschow says some people were concerned about drizzly or snowy weather impeding the deliveries.
“But we bike through winters, so we have all our gear,” Teschow said. “As long as you get suited up and have good bike bags and things, it’s good.”
The bags are even waterproof, so the boxes aren’t damaged by rain or snow.
Teschow said bikes are often dismissed as a backup and not a viable alternative to cars — something she says she believed, too — until her family got rid of theirs.
“Again, it’s not going to be like a minivan, but that’s OK,” Teschow said. “If your whole family got on their bikes and did some deliveries, I think you can totally participate and contribute and make a difference.” If you have been touched by the Santa Claus Fund or have a story to tell, please email santaclausfund@thestar.ca.