Page 10 - Sandgate Guide December Issue

Ian Grainger
aka The Real Santa
“I just started doing it for fun. My workmates realised I was riding dressed in the suit, and as part of my job at PwC is delivering the mail, they wanted all their mail delivered by me dressed as Santa.
“Each year people were ordering more parcels just to have them delivered by Santa.”
Ian said he had been inspired to go one step further this year.
“I just figured it had been a pretty crappy year for the world, so it might be good to do something nice,” he said.
He started a Go Fund Me page to raise funds to buy boxed, non-gender-specific toys under the value of $10, to be delivered to homes across the city.
“I put in $200 of my own money and now we’re at more than $2000,” Ian said.
“I’ve had lots of support and my manager at PwC has said they’re going to do a national call out.”
Laughing, Ian said it might “get a bit out of control” but he had an army of “elves” to help out.
“I have a Facebook group of fellow motorbike riders and they’ve all agreed to get suits and help me if need be,” he said.
SANTA CLAUS
IS RIDING INTO TOWN
Ian said he would be choosing homes at random on Christmas Eve to leave gifts at the front door.
Story Brooke Jacobson FPhoto Bruce Redman
“Each gift will have a sticker on it saying, if you don’t have kids or you don’t need this gift, please donate it to charity or give it to someone with kids,” he said.
“There’s going to be a QR code on there as well, which will take people to the Go Fund Me page. People can also post their photos to social media with the hashtag #realsantaproject.”
To donate to Ian’s Go Fund Me page, go to au.gofundme.com and search ‘The Real Santa Project Brisbane’ or scan the QR code on this page.
or almost a decade, northside residents have seen Santa zipping around on a motorbike in the lead up to Christmas.
This year, the man in red has promised he’s going to deliver more than a friendly wave.
Ian Grainger, otherwise known as the Motorbike Santa, is raising funds to distribute gifts to families across Brisbane.
“Since about 2012, I’ve been riding to my job in the city from Sandgate in my Santa suit every December,” Ian said.
10 SANDGATEGUIDE
DECEMBER2020