Santa visits Sunninghill

SUNNINGHILL – The Sunninghill community recently enjoyed their annual Christmas party with food, fun and presents and even got a special visit from Father Christmas! Read all about it here!

December 14, 2017

Robyn Kirk 1 minute read

Santa handed out nearly 140 presents during his visit. Photo: Robyn Kirk

The Sunninghill community got into the spirit of the festive season on 2 December when their annual Christmas party was held at Sunninghill Gardens Park.

Residents gathered for an afternoon of sun, fun, food and gifts as part of an annual tradition which was organised by the Sunninghill Community Ratepayers non-profit organisation and Savika Armed Response.

“Every year we have a Christmas party for our close-knit community,” explained Linda Gildenhuys, chairperson of Sunninghill Community Security, who attended the party after a day of hard work by the community to clean up the neighbouring K60 road.

“One of the most exciting things [about our parties] is when Father Christmas comes to visit. Every year he arrives in an exciting way, such as riding a horse, or skydiving in.”

This year’s party was no exception. Father Christmas arrived on the back of a black bakkie in a special envoy of vehicles, including two police cruisers from the Sandton Police Station and a number of Savika Security cars.

Mbongiseni and Bongiwe Mahlangu dressed up in Christmas-themed hats in honour of the occasion Photo: Robyn Kirk

The children of Sunninghill welcome the special guest, Santa. Photo: Robyn Kirk

Santa Clause arrives with his own special envoy, accompanied by Sandton police members and Savika Security. Photo: Robyn Kirk

The children who gathered at the event were very excited to see the man in red, for a good reason – while he was there, he handed out nearly 140 presents which were sponsored by Savika for the occasion. They also enjoyed playing on the jumping castle and loved the hot dogs and cold drinks on offer.

“Every year our parties get bigger and better,” said Adelia Hamburg of Savika Security, who acted as one of Santa’s helpers on the day.

“Today was about the community. Particularly now during the festive season, we as a community need to stick together and watch out for one another.

“We at Savika would like to encourage people to report anything suspicious that they see in their neighbourhood to us during the holidays. We’ll send out some guards to check on the situation at no charge.”

Hamburg also thanked Food Lover’s Sunninghill for generously donating all the food and drinks available for free to Sunninghill residents as they enjoyed their Christmas celebration.