Kids wowed as 'Buff' Santa rides down Queen St on sleigh

Santa arrived early in Auckland on Saturday. Photo / Irshad Ali

Auckland's city goers were left starstruck after a buff Santa appeared on his sleigh in the middle of Queen Street on Saturday.

Riding his sleigh through Fort St, Queen St and Mission Bay, the ripped Santa, armed with his Santa sack full of goodies, had hundreds of people posing for photos while he handed out lollies and gifts to children and protein bars to adults.

Children and adults stood in awe as Santa, kitted out with a beard, hat and full costume, strut his stuff in a successful attempt to lighten up spirits ahead of Christmas.

The man behind buff Santa, Irshad Ali, said it was a great feeling to bring some unexpected Christmas spirit to strangers.

Buff Santa handed out a number of goodies to children keen to receive an early present from Father Christmas. Photo / Irshad Ali

"We thought we wanted to do something different leading up to Christmas and make people smile, give children some festive spirit and lollies," he told the Herald.

"A couple of kids asked: 'Are you the real Santa?'"

Irshad and his wife came up with the idea on Wednesday night to create a Santa sleigh but had limited time to pull off the stunt.

"Me, my brother and my wife put together Santa's Sleigh in one night. We were up till about 1am painting the sleigh and waiting for it to dry. "

Buff Santa was seen riding down Queen St delivering Christmas spirit to the city of Auckland. Photo / Irshad Ali

Once the paint dried, Irshad mounted the sleigh onto a motorised skateboard, controlling the Santa's sleigh with a remote control.

Buff Santa didn't only attract children with a number of blushing ladies keen to get a snap with the masculine Father Christmas.

"A couple of ladies pinched my bum and touched my arms," Irshad laughed.

"It was just a great buzz to see the kids excited before Christmas day."

But it might not be the last time we see Irshad and his wife, with the pair planning a project for a festive season in 2018.

"We're planning to do Aladdin and Jasmine at some stage, maybe during Easter or Haloween."

Irshad said he couldn't believe he managed to pull it off and was extremely proud to see lots of children smiling and laughing.