"It was a huge trek, sometimes taking four or five hours and if it rained you could imagine the mess - paper would fall off the sculptures and there were all sorts of problems."
These days the floats, which on average take about 12 weeks to construct, are made of fibreglass and materials that can combat the weather.
Mr Taylor said the parades have had their share of near or actual disasters including one time when a cat on a float started giving birth to kittens mid-parade. A Santa float has also malfunctioned and Father Christmas had to instead ride in a police car to a few curious looks.
"We also had a big float for Farmers, which was a big purple shopping bag and it took the wrong route to the start of the parade."
"It hit the overhead gantries going down Nelson St and it virtually smashed the float to bits. We had to rebuild the float at the top of Cook St."
Farmers Santa Parade general manager Pam Glaser said some Christmas parades had seen their Santas flown in via helicopter or parachute in but with "health and safety requirements I think the days of Santa arriving like that are over.
"But we always make sure Santa's float is the best and I've just had a look at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade [in New York] and I believe our Santa float is even better."
Ms Glaser said the parade created "life-long memories". "Grandparents went as children and they're now bringing their grandchildren. It's become one of Auckland's traditions and it is the best free show going."
Revealed: Santa powered by rocket and Rudolph eats luminous moss
Scientists say the secret to how Santa delivers presents to 800 million homes around the world in one night is thanks to advanced rocket technology on the back of his sleigh.
They have also revealed how diet makes Rudolph the red-nosed-reindeer's nose glow and how a portly Santa manages to slide down chimneys.
AUT scientists say given the world's different time zones Father Christmas actually has 48 hours to deliver presents to 2 billion children around the world.
But with an average 2.5 children living at each home and 800 million homes worldwide, Santa has just one second to deliver presents to five homes.
Professor Allan Blackman said "the most likely explanation is that he uses an anti-matter rocket on the back of his sleigh" that blasts his sleigh forward at nearly the speed of light.
"Nasa is studying this to use this in their rocket engines but it looks like Santa has already beaten them to it," he said.
While no one has reportedly ever seen Santa deliver presents, the scientists have also explained how they think Santa does this.
Professor Steve Pointing, director of AUT University's Institute for Applied Ecology New Zealand, said Santa's sleigh is probably covered in a cloaking device or special lenses, that have only recently been developed at an American university.
"We think Santa has covered his sleigh in these lenses to make it appear invisible too," said Professor Steve Pointing.
The scientists also said Santa was able to squeeze through small spaces like chimneys despite appearing too portly to do so.
"Santa is a big chap but he's also a bit squishy, so to squeeze down a chimney he only needs the gap to be a little wider than his head, then he can slide all the way down to put presents under the tree."
As for Rudolph the reindeer's glowing nose, Professor Pointing said this could be explained as reindeer often snacked on bioluminescent mosses that thrive in the Arctic, where Santa lives.
"We think the genes that allow luciferin [a chemical which reacts with oxygen to produce light] to be produced were transferred to Rudolph and that's why his nose glows."
He explained that the reason Rudolph's nose glowed red and not the green moss colour was because of the blood inside his nose "much like your hand glows red if you put a torch behind it".
The video draws on scientific truths and recent discoveries to offer some answers about Santa's exploits.
"The video is a bit quirky, but is inspired by real science achievements. All four scientific principles in the video have featured in the news this year," says Professor Pointing.
