Forget decking the halls – Bob and Gina Bates decorate their mobility scooters with festive ornaments, tinsel and reindeer ears each year, creating Christmas cheer wherever they go.
The couple, who visit Pacific Werribee every day, have been doing up their scooters for the past eight years.
“The kids love it, even their parents and elderly people like it,” Mrs Bates said. “They say ‘Merry Christmas’ and ‘Good one’.”
Mrs Bates and her husband often distribute free presents to children at Pacific Werribee in the lead-up to December 25.
“When they have Father Christmas up there, we give them to kids in the line,” Mrs Bates said of the presents.
Last Wednesday, she handed out 50 candy canes within two hours.
Mrs Bates said that in previous years she had handcrafted bracelets and knitted balls for the children, but she had been unable to do so this year after breaking a wrist.
Mr Bates said he and his wife also decorated their scooters at Easter and Halloween.
“Lots of cars honk at us when we’re on our way to Werribee Plaza,” he said.
The couple, who celebrated their 54th wedding anniversary last week, have four children and 16 grandchildren, and are awaiting the birth of their seventh great-grandchild.
Mr Bates, a keen writer and poet, has written many short stories to entertain the youngsters in their family.
