Ho, ho, ho! It's Santa Parade time

The jolly man in the red suit who knows whether you've been naughty or nice is about to make his big Christchurch entrance.

He’ll be arriving in style as the star attraction of Christchurch’s 70th annual Santa Parade.

The parade starts at 2pm on Sunday and will travel nearly 2km along Riccarton Rd, starting from the corner of Wharenui Rd and ending at the corner of Mandeville St at 3.15pm.

Big bands, marching girls, clowns, and some well-known  children's characters will be joining Santa for this year's parade so make sure you factor it into your weekend plans.

If you want a good position to view the parade try between Rattray and Matipo streets. You can picnic in Shands Crescent Reserve opposite Konini St and the children can let off steam while waiting for the parade to start.

Parking will be available in the grounds of Kirkwood Intermediate School (entrance off Kirkwood Ave) for $5.

Riccarton Rd will be closed to traffic from just west of the Wharenui Rd intersection to Deans Ave between 1 and 5.30pm.  Wharenui Rd will be closed to all traffic (apart from parade or residents' vehicles) from 8am to 3.30pm. No stopping restrictions will also be in place from 6am along the parade route and on a number of nearby streets. You can find more information on the Transport for Christchurch website. 

Buses will run as normal along Riccarton Rd until 1pm on Sunday. From 1 to 4pm bus services will be detoured off Riccarton Rd to Blenheim Rd, between Deans Ave and Middleton Rd.  More information on the buses can be found at Metroinfo.

If it is raining on Sunday postpone announcements will be made after midday via The Breeze (94.5) and More FM (92.1) radio stations.

The Santa Parade is presented by the Christchurch Children’s Christmas Parade Trust.