Who is Britain’s greatest all-round Santa?

Christmas is well and truly on its way, and where else will the festive season be given a more rousing welcome than down at ‘Santaland’ in Wookey Hole Caves, now one of Britain’s leading entertainment destinations.

To set things up for a tremendous yuletide December they’re hosting an event unique in the annals of sporting achievement. A “Nonathon”, no less, featuring the kind of skills any Santa Claus worth his beard should be able to pull off in a twinkle.

9 individual events - 20 identical santas (Plus a few Fairies, Elves and Reindeer thrown in for good measure!)

There’s everything to fight for, in particular an official Round-Britain tour for the winning Santa, prize money and free mince pies.

The 9 events in full:

1. RODEO REINDEER: How long can Santa stay up? (A tricky question, considering he only comes once a year and that’s down a chimney, but never mind that.) Astride this craftily converted bucking bronco machine (now a “Rocking Rudolph” perhaps?) our Santas will try as they might to stay seated but will end up being tossed off all the same. Yes, noses won’t be the only things turning red…

2. WALL-CLIMBING: Also known as “Chimney Stacking”, this is the art of reaching the top so you can slip down to the bottom, as it were. All Father Christmases must master the art of ascending the vertical challenge or risk a faceful of black soot.

3. HO-HO-HOEING: Town criers, toastmasters and Meat Loaf might think they’ve got big voices, but they’re nothing compared with the decibel-defying antics of the Wookey Hole Santas. Ho! Ho! Ho!

4. TIP-TOEING: The antidote to Ho-Ho-Hoeing…just how quiet can these bearded barnstormers be as they tiptoe across the creaky ghosthouse wooden floor delivering presents to naughty children who refuse to go to sleep? Shh!

5. BOOT TOSSING: When Santa gets back to the North Pole the first thing he does is pull off those boots and toss them as far as he can while his chilblains recover. Watch our 20 Santas hurling their footwear hundreds of feet in their bid to become the first and greatest-ever Santa Olympic Champion!

6. FAIRY CARRYING: Father Christmas is a generous and tolerant individual and will carry a fairy as far as the next man in the interest of World Peace, Brotherly Love and winning the first prize. I assume - and hope - we are getting our fairies from the nearby Wookey Hole Fairy Garden. They are made of stone and weigh tons. Ho Ho.

7. MINCE PIE AND SPOON RACE - a variation on the classic British Sports Day favourite: Watch the Santas making festive fools of themselves as they try to keep their pies on the unforgiving spoons. One of the few sports where you can eat the equipment afterwards.

8. SANTA SACK RACING: In this version of the usual Sack Race, the Olympic Santas will place the sack over their heads and race for the line as blind as bats.

9.WHEELBARROW PUSHING: With their barrows loaded up with presents and no elves to help, how far will the Santas get without dropping their load? The magnificent climax to the Santa Olympics, the equivalent of the Marathon itself, will provide yet more great photo opportunities and comedy moments in our great celebration of the traditional Christmas Santa Claus.

Join in the fun for Britain’s First Santa Olympics at ‘Santaland’ in Wookey Hole near Wells in Somerset, on December 4th for a fabulous day of comedy and competition at Britain’s most entertaining and original fun-packed destination.

Tuesday December 4th 2007 at 12 noon
Wookey Hole, Wells, Somerset