Santa's Sleigh

The float during the cold 1986 parade, with Rudolph now joining the pack.

The float during the snowy 2016 parade. (Photo: A Great Capture on Flickr)

Santa's Sleigh is a float that traditionally appears at the end of every Santa Claus Parade. The float traditionally depicts Santa Claus riding on his trademark sleigh.

## History With The Parade

For the very first parade way back in 1905, Santa came in on a train that brought him to Eaton's Department Store. It wouldn't be until 1908 where he would come in on a sleigh pulled by real life reindeer. This would be turned into an actual float throughout the 1910s. As the 1920s and 1930s came in, the sleigh started to look like an actual float with moving reindeer. Santa paraded down the route on his sleigh every year. Not even two World Wars and the Great Depression could stop him. The first take on modern Santa's Sleigh floats would be made in the late 1930's. Following that, many different Santa floats were made over the years.

From the late 1940's to 1984, Santa's floats would have these icy blue reindeer as Santa paraded through Toronto to Eaton's Toyland on a snowy float. This idea would be retired following 1984.

In 1985, the real modern era of Santa floats began, with repainted reindeer jumping over rooftops. The following year in 1986, Rudolph made his parade debut. This float was retired after 1987. In 1988, yet another new float debuted, with Rudolph now becoming a mainstay of the float. This would also be the first-ever self-propelled Santa's Sleigh float, officially marking the end of Santa floats pulled by tractors. Santa's float would get another upgrade in 1993, now talking place in a snowy setting with snowflakes completely covering the float. Santa's float would get another upgrade in 1996.

In 1999, Santa appeared on a new float to end the final parade of the 20th century, now with new modern reindeer, replacing the old reindeer. This version would make appearances through 2003. In 2004, in celebration of the 100th parade, the castle was repainted gold.

In 2005, the float would get yet another upgrade. As part of a nostalgic makeover, the new float was back to being in a snowy environment with polar bears and walruses, and the 1999 reindeer could finally jump. This float would appear until 2010. In 2011, the float went back to featuring Santa flying over people's houses, as a modern recreation of the float from 1985, with the 1999 reindeer still having the ability to jump. The float went back to being in a snowy environment in 2016, still featuring the 1999 reindeer jumping over the night sky, now with a repaint. This 42-foot-long float was used for six parades, retiring in 2021.

In 2022, a new Santa float debuted, now featuring brand-new reindeer. The float features new reindeer flying over snowy hills and passing by the northern lights. The new reindeer all have different name tags and collars with sleigh bells on it. This was also the first Santa float to not have Rudolph on it. This float made only one appearance, as it was briefly retired following the 2022 parade.

For 2023, Santa rode on another new float. This float is a completely revamped version of the previous float. This time, Santa's sleigh is back to flying over houses, and this time, the reindeer are animated once again, but this time, the 2022 reindeer are flying on tilting rods coming out of the chimneys.