Heritage Santa Cruise 2021

Last Sunday the Heritage Santa Cruise made a much-anticipated return to the roads of Sussex. Sadly Covid-19 had put a halt on plans for our 2020 event, so we were keener than ever to dress up and go for a drive in the name of charity in 2021. Here's how it went. 

First held in 2010, our festive fancy dress drive-out has raised in the region of ten thousand pounds since it started, and most of that has been donated to The Children's Trust. 

The Children's Trust is a charity helping young people and their families who have been affected by brain injury. Each year we make a donation from all the suits sold and request this is put towards leisure activities for the children to enjoy. 

Whilst our day-to-day business is very much focused on Volkswagen and Porsche vehicles we have always made enthusiasts and owners of other classic marques welcome at our Santa Cruise. 2021 was no different, and we were joined by drivers representing Ford and Mercedes as well as VAG stablemates SEAT, Skoda and Audi. 

On top of paying to take part in our seasonal shenanigans, we were blown away by the generosity of those who attended, bringing bags and bags of presents to be handed out to the children for Christmas. We safely delivered these to Tadworth Court a few days later, and the team there couldn't wait to start playing Santa and distribute the gifts you had chosen. 

From the sale of Santa suits and the sign up fee, we are pleased to announce we raised over £1200 for The Children's Trust. 

If you are reading this and feel you would like to add to the total, you can! Simply send an SMS message with the word "Cruise" or "Cruisenoinfo" (if you prefer to opt out of marketing messages) to 70085 and follow it with the amount you wish to donate ie. Cruise10 or Cruisenoinfo10 to donate £10. The message will cost the donation amount plus your standard network message rate. Our thanks in advance for your generosity. 

With costumes carefully tailored to fit (with scissors and tape), and the vehicles suitably decorated it was time to take to the road. A big thanks to Mike from our Trade team for carrying the torch and leading the convoy in his Grinch-themed Crafter. 

Other vehicles you couldn't fail to miss included the incredibly wonderful Nut Job "North Pole Couriers" panel van complete with presents on the roof rack, falling out the sliding door, and the tailgate. I myself (Andy) had covered my Porsche 944 head to toe in tartan wrapping paper, a feat that took at least 10 hours, and sadly didn't survive as I would have liked after a damp drive over to B Road Hunting Club. In fact, things didn't end so well for team NutJob either, as they broke down!

It was an absolute pleasure to chat with these guys, and it turns out there is a wonderful story with the car too. Having been a project for 22 years, this 1302 Beetle project has just come back from a 4 year-long restoration and is finally rewarding the owners with the fun they have waited so long to have!

With around 60 cars taking part it was a bit of a juggling act to get everyone parked on solid ground when we arrived at the Bentley Estate, on which B Road Hunting Club operates. Thanks to you all for your patience with this, it was most appreciated. 

We like to let a few of our younger Santa's pick a favourite vehicle each year, and this year the award for best-dressed vehicle went to Jamie and Frances with their purple and white Split Bus, complete with Unicorn and Reindeer dining in the back! They collected a box of chocolates from Janice, Head of Marketing and eCommerce at Heritage. 

With the weather showing no sign of improving, and the light steadily fading, cars started to disappear from BRHC after an hour or so. But not before a second group photograph to remember the day by. It was an emotional day for many; from the act of fundraising for such a worthy cause to enjoying being back out at a 'normal' event again. 

Our sincerest thanks to you all for once again supporting the Santa Cruise. We look forward to welcoming you all back to Heritage HQ in 2022 when our Heretics meetings will return (subject to Government guidelines).

Merry Christmas to you all!

The Heritage Team.