Emergency Santa a hit with children

Press, 11 December 1982, Page 1

Emergency Santa a hit with children

Dressing up as Father Christmas is not in the usual line of duties for Constable Richard Strachan. But he answered an emergency call to the South Brighton Kindergarten which had been left without a Father Christmas for its Christmas party on Thursday afternoon. The chairman of the kindergarten parents’ committee, Mrs Lesley Chapman, said she telephoned the Christchurch Central Police Station in a panic about 1.30 p.m. The friend she had “lined up” as the traditional guest of honour was called away on urgent business and the kindergarten party for its afternoon session pupils started at 3 p.m. Constable Strachan was dispatched, with a suit borrowed from the Christchurch Police Wives’ Association and some experience as Father Christmas at police functions. Nor was the crisis yet over — the suit was several sizes too small. Mrs Chapman stitched

Constable Strachan into the suit but it started popping open as they were driving to the kindergarten. A stop was made at a local drapery for safety pins. “I pinned him into his suit in the car outside the drapers,” she said. “It must have looked a bit funny.” Father Christmas duly arrived only a few minutes late to hand out balloons to about 55 kindergarten pupils and their siblings.

“He was fabulous,” Mrs Chapman said. The experience may come in handy for Constable Strachan, who started duties yesterday as the new Papanui community constable. One of the kindergarten teachers, Ms Heather Pearce, agrees that the party was a success although Father Christmas was “this great big tall man bursting out of his suit.” In fact, she did not notice anything amiss until the original Father Christmas — about half the size — turned up at yesterday’s Christmas party for morning-session pupils.