Santa proves worth the wait

More than 250,000 turned out to see the Man in Red in Auckland. Picture / Dean Purcell

With an hour to go before the Santa Parade starts, the elves are getting cheeky about their boss.

Sophie Pascoe, 11 today, and her brother Liam, 12, are more than willing to spill a few trade secrets.

Santa has quite a large fan base, says Sophie. "I'm not being selfish, but it's probably because he gives presents."

It is their fourth year in the parade. They have never been elves before and are not sure if the proximity to Santa compensates for waiting for their turn at the end of the parade.

They also have balloon envy. Their red and green balloons are not as impressive as those with world maps carried by another group.

Sophie's job is to yell out "Rudolph" whenever the parade stops, and all the elves skip round in a circle. She rehearses her line, and the volume makes it clear why she was chosen.

The wait also gives the elves more time to worry about Santa's health.

"I want to know why he lives in the North Pole" says Joseph Lendich.

"It's freezing up there. Why can't he live in Canada? Canada's hotter.

"But he's big, fat and jolly and makes people happy. He eats all the mince pies. Here's to you, big guy,"

An estimated 250,000 people have turned out to see Santa.

Some, obviously veterans, have come prepared.

Many have blankets and several have thought to bring ladders. One group has a sofa, another almost an entire suite of outdoor furniture.

The first parade in 1947 featured a pipe band, a marching team, clowns and fairies, and busloads of children from the city orphanages.

Nowadays, things are much different. Businesses sponsor various floats, so the nativity float and Santa are preceded by a 45-minute glut of advertising.

In the middle of the cartwheeling marching girls and clowns on unicycles, comes a sombre health and safety message from the meningococcal campaign: "Be wise, Immunise".

A huge inflated water bottle nearly takes out an overhanging Diabetes Awareness banner and a paddle ferry advertises a charitable trust that reaps the benefits of pokie machines, declaring "Gaming funds help the community."

A TV2 float breaks up the traditional carols with a bit of not-so-Christmasy Eminem.

Even the donkey that carried Mary has been supplanted by a Ford.

The children seem oblivious.

Two-headed people sprout from the pavements as children are hoisted onto shoulders, all the better to see the characters they know so well: Bob the Builder, SpongeBob SquarePants, the Simpsons, those who have entertained them - only to be gazumped at the end by Santa.

* Santa can be emailed, texted or phoned on Telecom's SantaLine, until Christmas Eve.

Call Santa free on 0800 22 22 22, email at santa@xtramsn.co.nz or text him on 9627 on a Telecom cellphone. Texts cost 20c, proceeds go to CCS.