Christmas is all about family!
IN 2018, Allan Evans from Porthcawl was a tax adviser by day, and a husband, father, and grandfather by night.
However, when he was approached by an old colleague for a favour, he had no idea how it would transform the family’s lives.
The colleague noticed a certain likeness between Allan, originally from Maesteg, and jolly old Saint Nicholas.
Allan recalled: “I received a phone call from a colleague I used to work with about three years ago.
“She asked me if I’d like to be Father Christmas for the Tata Steel children’s Christmas parties. Not quite sure why they thought that I say patting my big belly and pulling my white beard. But I thought, well, I’ll give it a go because they didn’t have anyone else to stand in.”
Allan and his wife, Sharon, sourced a local seamstress to make him a suit, and he had a few trial runs with some local Scouts before attending the Christmas parties as the Steel Works Santa.
Christmas 2018 came and went, however, the passing of a colleague in 2019 meant Allan would have to dust off his Santa suit for a rather unusual appearance.
“A friend of a colleague of mine in work, Alex, he loved Christmas, but unfortunately passed away quite suddenly. He had a heart problem and everyone that went to his funeral was dressed up in Christmas jumpers.
“I went there as Father Christmas because his parents and his fiancée said he would have been really chuffed if Father Christmas had attended his funeral, so I did. And when I was standing at the graveside they sort of thought. This is wrong.”
He contacted the British Heart Foundation to arrange some fundraising.
“I spoke with my family, and the concept of the ‘Family Claus’ was born.”
The family decided to go all-in on the fundraising, arranging visits to Pyle Garden Centre, home visits, and Christmas parties. Allan also sorted outfits for his wife and daughter from the seamstress who made his suit.
“I didn’t want to be a Coca-Cola Santa, I wanted to be something different, something that would encourage people to put their hands in their pockets.
“I went into a shop and said, I’d like to have something like this, this sort of colour, and from there she made the suit that I’m wearing now. I think it’s amazing what she’s done. She then made an outfit for my wife, Mrs Claus, and my daughter, Katie, who is my Chief Elf Candy Cane.”
The grandchildren are also very supportive of the family’s venture. “My granddaughter, Serena is 11 now and my grandson, Harrison, is seven. My grandson is very cute he says, ‘when you got your hat on you’re Santa, when your hat’s off, you’re Bampi’.
“I explained to them that Santa gets very very busy towards Christmas time and he asks certain people, who have got the magic of Christmas, in their hearts to help him out. And I’m very proud that he’s asked me.”
The family have spent their Christmases since raising money for various local charities. After the passing of Sharon’s mother last year from Alzheimer’s, the family turned their efforts to fundraising for Alzheimer’s Society Cymru.
Even with the restrictions, Allan and his family managed to raise over £10,000 for Alzheimer’s Society Cymru, earning him the Dementia Hero Award for fundraising this month.
“I was told about the nomination just as my wife had been diagnosed with cancer. It gave us a real morale boost, like a lovely thought just to think that somebody’s taking the effort to write into Alzheimer’s to say, what we’ve been doing. It was really nice like to read on the web at the time.
“When the media announced that I was the winner, there was complete silence in the room because we didn’t believe it, we thought the others would have got it. Then all of a sudden it sunk in and we all started jumping up and down it was wonderful. It’s a wonderful feeling and a nice thought. I’m very, very honoured.”
A spokesperson for Alzheimer’s Society Cymru said: “Allan, aka Steel Works Santa, is not only a truly inspirational fundraiser, but he has also been a beacon of light and hope during the dark days of the pandemic.”