With elves run off their feet this Christmas, Men’s Shed members were asked to build Santa’s sleigh at Tamworth Shopping World.

“We’d never done anything like it before, but we took the challenge on and as it turned out a couple of ours guys are particularly good with wood,” member Mark Smith said.

“This year we’ve continued our growth in service to the community in terms of helping people build furniture, wood turning, anyone can bring anything to us to see if we can fix it.”

Earlier this year The Leader checked in with Tamworth resident Athol Latham, who’s about as close to a real life Santa as it gets.

He’s built toy kits for disadvantaged little boys and girls in developing countries.

Cementing their place on Santa’s Nice List, Men’s Shed members have made dog kennels for the Heaven Can Wait dog shelter and possum boxes for Youth Frontiers mentoring program.

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“We love it when nursing homes have little jobs for us to do, we think it’s a great opportunity to give back to people who need more assistance than us,” Mr Smith said.

“Some of these people have had strokes and there’s not a lot they can do at home so they work with more able-bodied people, crack on and feel they’ve achieved something which is great for them. 

“As you get older you can become more isolated so mixing with other blokes on a regular basis makes a big difference.”

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