Santa’s swapping his sleigh for the bus for a festive family weekend in St Helens

Santa’s swapping his sleigh for a bus to get to a magical festive family fun weekend in St Helens.

While his elves get his traditional mode of transport ready for his busy season, North West Museum of Road Transport has provided a specially-decorated vintage double decker for Father Christmas to get to their Santa’s Bus Stop event.

And they’ve even provided him with a sparkly grotto on wheels so youngsters can meet the man in red and share their wish lists with him!

Santa’s Bus Stop is taking place on Saturday and Sunday, December 6-7, at the town’s Hall Street attraction.

It’s open from 10am to 4pm each day and Father Christmas will be arriving by bus on both days.

As well as seeing Santa, there’ll be loads of other activities and treats for families to enjoy.

There’ll be free bus rides around St Helens on a vintage bus, face painting and a Find the Reindeer hunt around the depot.

As well as entertainment from an elf-like clown, kids can get stuck into Christmas crafts, and there’ll be a gift shop and around 20 independent stalls for everyone to enjoy.

And, along with all the festive fun, there’ll be all the museum’s usual exhibits to see, from its collection of single and double decker public transport vehicles dating back to the 1930s to its vintage cars, motorbikes, fire-engines, push-bikes and even a milk float all on show!

The Rainhill Model Railway Club will be also showing some of its model railway layouts, and there’s a model railway layout complete with Thomas the Tank Engine which is great for the younger children.

“And of course, there’ll be lots of lovely refreshments,” says Ged Pennington, events organiser for the museum which is run entirely by volunteers.

Ged adds: “We have held a Christmas event for years and it’s always one of our most popular weekends.

“We have a different theme every year and it’s a really special event for us.

“The buses and the depot will all be decorated in tinsel and it’s a really great weekend, very festive and always jolly, and it’s something we always enjoy being a part of.

“All of the proceeds go towards the museum and helping us maintain our fine collection preserve it for generations to come.”

Entry to Santa’s Bus Stop is £12 for adults, and free for under-16s.

Find out more on the North West Museum of Road Transport website here or follow the museum on Facebook here.

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