Santa is on his way, and he's bringing us all a special present

Published on Thursday 26 November 2009 08:37

IT'S the Christmas present all of Edinburgh has been wishing for, and on Saturday morning it will be delivered by Santa Claus himself.

Father Christmas will be re-opening Princes Street – and banishing tram works for the Christmas season – as he arrives at his new festive home in Jenners' Grotto.

This year, Santa and his elves have decided to skip their usual sleigh ride. Instead, they will hop on a Lothian Bus with patients from the Sick Kids hospital.

Lothian Buses will be picking up 70 patients and parents from the Sick Kids and transporting them to Santa's Grotto in one of the new state-of-the art buses which allow both wheelchairs and prams onboard.

The red carpet will be rolled out for their arrival at the store, and Santa and his elves will invite the children to be the first VIP guests at the Grotto, which opens to the public at 11:30am.

The Santa bus will be the first vehicle on Princes Street in more than ten months, as tram works stop for the festive season.

The street will officially open to buses, taxis and bicycles at 5am on Sunday.

Lothian Buses managing director Ian Craig, says: "We wanted to celebrate the fact that Princes Street is back open for business by, quite literally, bringing Santa Claus to town.

"We are picking up and filling the bus full of children from the Sick Kids to mark the occasion, and allowing them to visit Santa and the renowned Grotto."

Lucy Rothwell, corporate and events fundraiser with the Sick Kids Friends Foundation, said: "Many children and families who have cause to visit the Royal Hospital for Sick Children have a really tough time.

"Everyone we invited along to see Santa at Jenners were thrilled and so grateful and it is this which makes partnership like this priceless to the work which the foundation supports, focusing on patients and their families."

Jenners store manager George Bell added: "Santa's arrival is always a firm favourite in the calendars of the Capital's kids, and it's great that the first vehicle to open up Princes Street again after all the tram works is Santa's 21st century sleigh – a Lothian Bus.

"The double-decker bus will be full of patients from the Sick Kids who wouldn't have been able to visit Santa otherwise."

The reopening of Princes Street will follow tonight's official launch of Edinburgh's Winter Wonderland in Princes Street Gardens.

The party will start with a "fire and ice extravaganza" at 6:30pm when Angus Purden and Judie McCourt from the Peoples Postcode Lottery will host 20 of the best local skaters as they take to the ice in festive costumes for a Christmas display.

Other attractions include fire-eaters, jugglers and stilt-walkers to keep the crowds entertained.

The event, which follows the official switch-on of Edinburgh's Christmas lights, will also feature a spectacular fire display on the ice rink.