Hassocks volunteers wrap thousands of presents for grotto

Santa’s volunteer elves had a highly productive day last week making sure his grottos are ready for visitors.

By Carly-May Kavanagh

Published 4th Nov 2020, 15:17 BST

Volunteers wrapping 4,000 parcels at Adastra Hall SUS-201023-150559001

Volunteers at Adastra Hall in Hassocks wrapped more than 4,000 presents to give away.

Rebecca Houghton-Knapp, who works at Tates Garden Centres, said: “In a single day we’ve managed to wrap more than 4,000 presents for our charity grottos, run by The Budding Foundation.”

A total of 36 volunteers worked hard for around ten hours to wrap the gifts.

Rebecca said: “A huge thank you to everyone who gave up their time today to make this possible.

“Obviously it is a difficult year this year, but the Budding Foundation is hoping to raise as much money as possible with their two charity grottos – Santa’s Enchanted Forest at Old Barn Garden Centre near Horsham and Santa’s Grotto at South Downs Nurseries in Hassocks.”

Last year the grottos raised a total of £43,000 to help children’s projects across the area.