Santa is making a special visit to Andover to put smiles on children’s faces this December.

Usually, Andover’s Santa would have the chance to chat to the town’s little ones at Portway Junior School’s Christmas fayre but, due to coronavirus restrictions, that’s not been possible this year.

After lots of excited families expressed interest on Facebook, Santa decided to plan four fun-filled routes on his sleigh, covering more than 35 miles of residential streets.

The Advertiser caught up with Father Christmas himself, for a quick chat in his busy schedule before the big event.

“Santa knows how rubbish this year has been. Lots of children have had to spend a lot of time away from friends, family, grandparents,” he said.

“But Covid is not going to ruin Christmas!”

Due to the fact that Santa and his sleigh can’t travel on major roads, the routes on each of the evenings (Thursday December 17 - Sunday December 20) are planned so that as many children as possible can watch and wave from their own windows, doorsteps or gardens, leaving plenty space for the unlucky few whose street isn’t getting a visit to take a socially-distanced walk along one of the routes.

“There’s plenty of santa to go around!” he said with a chuckle.

“All of Santa’s elves are very busy getting ready for Christmas, so to keep participants to a minimum he will have one of Santa’s helpers driving the truck and one in the back with me.

“I want to make it clear that this isn’t a charity raising event. It is purely about the children, and putting smiles on faces.”

Santa also gave a special thank you to NE Electricals, who are making sure his Andover sleigh is kitted out with lights, a sound system, and a snow machine, as well as HMG Coatings for sourcing him a sleigh, trailer, and pick-up truck to use while in the town.

When the Advertiser asked Santa how the children (and big kids!) of Andover could make sure they got everything on their wishlist this year, he said: “They need to be working very hard at school, being very nice to their friends, and helping mums and dads - especially by tidying up their toys!

“Santa, being very very old, will have had his vaccine by Christmas, so will be cleared to visit houses and deliver presents. He is always happy to have snacks, and he always wears gloves, but maybe put some hand sanitizer out next to your mince pies!”

Santa is asking Andover to choose his sleigh-ride playlist by adding their favourite Christmas tune, and will also be running a competition to send in a selfie with the sleigh in the background, with £200 worth of prizes from local businesses up for grabs for the best snaps.

He said: “Now it’s all set up, it’s just about getting as many people as possible out to wave.”

Check the full routes and let Santa know you are going to be watching out for him by getting involved on the Facebook page: facebook.com/Santa-Claus-is-Coming-to-Andover-Town-110158280915644