New World Hastings' giant Santa waves goodbye after 17 years of spreading Christmas joy. Photo / Warren Buckland
New World Hastings' giant Santa waves goodbye after 17 years of spreading Christmas joy. Photo / Warren Buckland
Take a close look at the right hand of the iconic Santa on top of Hastings New World.
This year he's not waving hello. He's waving goodbye.
The beloved, and occasionally loathed, giant 8m high, 4.5m wide, 700kg Santa has once again made his way from the North Pole tothe roof overlooking the Opera House, the city centre, Bridge Pa, and beyond.
But this year will be his final Christmas appearance before he's put into retirement, his owners say.
Put simply, "the old fella doesn't take well to wind", New World Hastings store owner Jeff Yates said.
Now they're asking the public for retirement suggestions for Santa.
The giant Santa once called the Splash Planet theme park home where his towering stature fit in well among the colourful rides until the turn of the millenium.
The Santa towers at around 8 metres tall, 4.5 metres wide and weighs around 700 kilos. Photo / Warren Buckland
The previous New World Hastings store owners saved the Santa from ending up in the place where all unwanted Christmas gifts go, and after a full facelift and some internal restructuring, the Santa became the face of Christmas at New World Hastings.
"We realise the jolly old fella may not be everyone's cup of tea, but you can't deny he's striking and a memorable part of customers' Christmas shopping experience down here in Hastings – we love him," Yates said.
"He's been up on the store's rooftop since 2002, and he's part of our extended family that comes 'round to visit us every Christmas season."
But in recent years wind has made it fiendishly tricky to move the big man onto the roof and down again.
"We were thrilled to get him in place this morning," Yates said.
"We had to wait for the perfect Southern Hemisphere weather conditions, and it took a large crane and a team of local builders to get him up on the roof for his final appearance."
After so many years though Yates says it will be sad to see him go, but that won't slow down any future celebrations.
Builders work to remove Santa after his first voyage on the New World roof in 2002. Photo / File
Yates says they are still working out what's next for Santa and his retirement plans, but he's open to the community's ideas.
He asks any local interested parties who would like to carry on Santa's tradition to pop into New World Hastings for a cuppa and a chat.
With Santa up, it signals the beginning of the countdown to Christmas in Hawke's Bay.
Street decorations are set to be put on display in Napier and Hastings by local council staff in the coming weeks.
Hawke's Bay also has some big Christmas events in the coming weeks starting off with the Hastings Tree Lighting at the Night Market on Thursday, November 28 as well as the upcoming Harcourts Christmas Parade in Napier on Sunday, December 1.
