WHAT happens when Santa's sleigh is in the garage?

He parks Ruldoph and takes to the wheel of a red convertible Mini of course!

Yes, that may sound like a rubbish joke straight out of a Christmas cracker, but truth is stranger that fiction (or terrible one-liners!)

This Santa has been driving around York in a red Mini giving out more than 500 presents and spreading Christmas joy and cheer all week across the city.

The Santa on Tour expedition is the brainchild of Global Church York - who are also staging a carol concert at The Principal Hotel on Sunday that will also be live streamed.

It is the second outing for Santa on Tour, which began last year during lockdown to bring a little festive cheer to local communities.

Sam Gallagher of Global Church York said: "We are sure you will agree, sometimes getting in the Christmas spirit can be a bit tough - especially this year.

"With the pressure we all put ourselves under to deliver the 'perfect' Christmas and budgets feeling stretched, all combined with the ever-changing world we live in, it's easy to not have an abundance of the festive feels.

"At Global Church York, we have been on a mission to change that and spread some festive cheer all week, taking Santa on Tour!

"We got Santa into his red convertible mini, his sleigh was having some last-minute work done, loaded it up with gifts for children and treats for grown-ups and headed to Acomb, Heworth, Clifton and Woodthorpe.

"We had an amazing week, giving out more than presents and spreading as much festive cheer as possible!

"The children who came to see Santa all received a gift wrapped selection box."

And they are not stopping there, adds Sam.

"This Sunday we are taking over the Principal Hotel for our annual Christmas with Global carol service.

"There is going to be Christmas carols, an unpacking of the story of Christmas, festive treats, a huge kids' party and one last visit from Santa before he heads back to the North Pole."

All the children visited by Santa received an invitation to the carol concert.

Sam added: "This is a carol service for the whole city, so we will be professionally live streaming the whole event from 5pm on our Facebook page."

To join in you will find the live stream at: www.facebook.com/globalchurchyork

Sam said: "You are officially invited to tune in, sing out some classic carols from your front room and kick start your festive feels!"

By day, Sam is the owner of the popular Poppleton Social café and bar in Poppleton, as well as Busk cafe in Fishergate York.

He said: "Global Church has a long history of finding ways to connect with our local area and getting to know the people in our communities. Our vision is to be a global church network, with a local flavour that we create by building communities where people can genuinely belong.

"And if you're interested in finding out more about us, or trying out one of our regular church services you can get in touch with us at our website www.globalchurch.co.uk and find us on Facebook and Instagram. We've been part of Global Church for nearly 9 years now, and in all our time there we've always felt part of a strong, healthy community."