Father Christmas turned green as he took to an electric bike to deliver Secret Santa gifts across St Andrews.
And he continued the environmentally-friendly theme by only delivering second-hand items donated by the community.
The unusual initiative was the brainchild of St Andrews University’s Transition group, which saw students, staff and the public choosing presents for one another.
All were then delivered free of charge by university staff dressed as Santa.
The gifts were made up of things donated by people throughout the year to StAndReuse, a project that has seen more than 40 tonnes of discarded clothes and household goods distributed in St Andrews since 2009.
Transition held its first Secret Santa in St Andrews last year.
And it was such a success that staff decided to repeat it for 2021.
Secret Santa means a greener Christmas
People had to sign up via the StAndResue Facebook page and share three things about themselves to help their Secret Santa choose the right gift.
And participants then dropped by the store in University Hall to sift through the discarded items.
Project co-ordinator Sam Woolhead said: “As much as possible we wanted people to embrace their creativity and make a gift from the madness of second-hand goodies donated to us by people decluttering or getting ready to leave town.
“A challenge, game and reward all at the same time – reusing second-hand to bring about gifts of a greener Christmas.”
While Secret Santa in St Andrews is only for Christmas, StAndReduse is run all year round.
And each year it collects up to six tonnes of donated goods.
These are then rehomed through pop-up giveaway events and weekly drop-in sessions.
Meanwhile, it gives home starter pack to charities such as Fife Gingerbread.
Sam added: “Except for our clothing swap and sales event, everything we give away is entirely for free.
“The pandemic has really challenged our way of working but also forced us to be creative and explore new ways of reaching out to people.
“Our version of Secret Santa emerged so we could continue rehoming items and also put a smile on people’s faces.”
