In 42 cities across Canada, including here in Regina, runners hit the streets for the annual Santa shuffle.
For Amanda Parker, this year Santa’s Shuffle is a special time for her and her family.
"My husband works a lot of shift work, so I've done a couple races, and me and my daughter did the inflatable,” said Parker. “This one, my husband was actually home, so we all got to do it."
But for the Parker family, the race isn't only about getting together and shuffling through some snow. It's also about helping families that can't afford a Christmas meal or gifts.
"I want to help them because I'm a kid who can have all that stuff, and I think it's fair that the whole world can have that stuff," said Parker’s nine-year-old daughter, Sophie.
Participants either shuffled the five-kilometre fun run from the Conexus Arts Centre to the First Nations University of Canada or completed the half-a-kilometre Elf Walk. And ability didn't matter. For the $30 fee, there were even kids in strollers taking part.
"The funds raised this year, go to the Salvation Army's Red Shield fund,” said Andrew Doan, Santa Shuffle race director. “It's a general fund that distributes money locally to where the money has been raised to the ministries in that community that need the funding the most."
While the Santa Shuffle is a way to help share the spirit of Christmas, it is also a time for family and friends to dress up and share some laughs.
"A Grinch always needs his reindeer to pull the sleigh down the hill,” said Courtney Ellis Toddington, an avid racer who took part in the Santa Shuffle. “I thought, ‘Why not make the 15-year-old (her son Jaiden) the reindeer?’”
This year marks the Santa Shuffle's 16th race in Regina. With a record-breaking 330 shufflers, more families than ever will be receiving help for their own Christmas cheer.
