Celebrate the magic of Christmas on your High Street with the Hi Santa Stops festive trail
Hi Street!16 November 2023
Christmas is coming and festive spirit is in the air as North Northamptonshire Council has today launched a magical interactive experience designed to spread cheer and encourage people to support their local businesses this festive season.
Made possible through funding from the Government’s UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF), ‘Hi Santa Stops’ is part of the Council’s Hi Street campaign and is set to be a fun and charming trail adventure for children, families, and adults alike.
It aims to bring smiles to faces, and a sense of community across 14 local towns, and asks people to step out of their home to stroll through town centres and discover their local businesses, instead of scrolling through screens as they prepare for their Christmas festivities.
A total of 56 local businesses have joined in to become a ‘Hi Santa Stop’, as the trail invites people to explore local town centres, High Streets, and shopping areas to hunt for 8 enchanting clues across 7 trail areas, from Santa himself.
Discovering these clues unlocks a heart-warming message from Santa who will give participants a letter to help unveil a festive-themed word once all 8 clues are found. People can then go on to enter a prize draw if they wish, where they could win £500 worth of gift vouchers to use at local businesses, and as an added bonus, everyone taking part can collect a bag of sweet festive treats as a reward for completing the challenge.
Christmas is a wonderful time to bring people together, and our ‘Hi Santa Stops’ trail is a fantastic way to do this. It is a creative and fun experience for all, as well as a talking point, especially with the chance for people to win a brilliant prize with a support local theme.Councillor David Brackenbury, the Council’s Executive Member for Growth and Regeneration
We are delighted to be spreading a little Christmas cheer, and to put local businesses in the spotlight in this way, giving them the chance to shine as people explore High Streets and places around them to find the magical clues, and enjoy the huge range of businesses that North Northamptonshire is home to.
This year we are sprinkling Christmas magic on our local High Streets with the launch of ‘Hi Santa Stops’ to celebrate the huge variety of small businesses we have across the area, which are run by passionate and talented people.Leader of North Northamptonshire Council, Councillor Jason Smithers
We hope by showcasing our local towns in this way, that people will join the trail and discover places to shop, socialise and treat themselves, all while supporting their local businesses.
We love Christmas, it’s our favourite and busiest time of the year, and we are delighted to be a ‘Hi Santa Stop’ for the Kettering trail. We are ready to welcome new and existing customers through our doors to show them all we have to offer, and we hope once people discover us, and other local businesses around us, that they will come back for more.Local business owner of The Shop in Kettering, Claire Scott
It is a challenging time on the High Street for all types of businesses, and creative initiatives like this, mean the world to us. They get people out and about to take part in meaningful experiences where they can connect with their local town and discover so much more than what they can when shopping online
‘Hi Santa Stops’ will run from 16 November until Saturday 23 December giving people plenty of time to enjoy the activity during the lead up to Christmas, and unlock the clues at their leisure.
It will be supported by a campaign to encourage participation in the trail including a promotional video, social media activity on the Hi Street Facebook and Instagram page, and activity on Small Business Saturday which takes place on 2 December.
All the information people need to take part is on the Hi Street section of the North Northamptonshire Council website including the trail areas and all local businesses involved.