As we all know, the first Christmas tractor run was Santa Claus with his nine-deer-power sleigh on 24 December. Nowadays he has swapped his reindeer for a John Deere, and you can spot him and his elves on their tractors on roads near you throughout the festive season. St Nick may have modernised his fleet but he has maintained his traditional gift-giving, with tractor runs having raised several million pounds for charity in recent years.

All this is organised for Father Christmas by farmers, especially the various Young Farmers’ Clubs (YFC) all over the country, as well as vintage tractor enthusiasts and local community charity fundraisers. While nobody quite knows how it all got started, everybody agrees it began with vintage tractors and the foundation of the National Vintage Tractor and Engine Club in the 1970s. Enthusiast Ashley Godsall set up the National Vintage Tractor Road Run (NVTRR) in 1985 and held the first run in 1986, with 150 vehicles raising money for the British Heart Foundation. It’s now an annual event and the next NVTRR happens this spring, trundling through Suffolk in April 2025. Many vintage tractor owners also take part in the Christmas runs but some prefer to wait until the better weather as these tractors have no cabs, which makes them even colder than Santa’s sleigh.

The Christmas tractor runs tradition

One particularly well-known example of the modern tractor, with the joys of an air-conditioned cab featuring sat-nav alongside info and entertainment systems, is Jeremy Clarkson’s enormous Lamborghini tractor – familiar to anyone who has watched the hit series Clarkson’s Farm. It has been driven by Kaleb Cooper through Banbury and the surrounding villages for the past few Christmases. The Banbury Christmas Run was masterminded by Jennie Steenkamp, a farmer and director of RC Baker agricultural contractors. “It was my idea originally to do it, eight years ago,” she remembers. “At the time our agricultural contracting business was large and we had a lot of machinery. At Christmas it is a quieter time of year so there were a lot of tractors not doing anything and it seemed like a bit of fun to get them out. My family thought I was nuts but we went ahead and did it for Christmas 2016. I think it must have been one of the first Christmas runs, and we didn’t do a lot of planning – we just set off.

“It has become really popular now,” Steenkamp continues. “When we first set out we thought it was just a drive around but it has snowballed enormously. It became so big that the police had to ask us to keep the numbers down, so now we limit the run to 100 tractors, which from an organising perspective we feel is big enough. Watching 100 tractors go past actually takes a long time, and in December that’s not always easy. There are some hardy farmers driving their vintage tractors, which don’t have cabs, and it can get pretty cold. And of course, at the other end of the spectrum is Kaleb Cooper in the Lamborghini.

“As an agricultural contractor, Kaleb has been taking part for years. He supported us before he became famous on Clarkson’s Farm. The programme has now been to film the run and it has appeared on the show,” she reveals. “This year we are planning a similar route but we have local companies sponsor a tractor. That’s working very well. Katharine House Hospice was our chosen charity the first time and we have gone on donating to them ever since. Everyone has been touched by their work. It has become a huge thing for the hospice, and it is an important part of their funding now. Since we started we have raised more than £145,000. Last year’s run alone went over £45,000.”

This is topped by The Pink Ladies Tractor Road Run, one of the longest-running events. “We have raised £1.2m so far in aid of breast cancer research,” calculates founder Annie Chapman. “It was just going to be a one-off but our monster won’t lie down and 21 years later here we are. We were the first tractor run especially for ladies. My husband and I are vintage tractor enthusiasts; I drive a David Brown. When I retired I wanted to do something for charity and we had the idea to do a run just for ladies after a friend had been diagnosed with breast cancer.”

Generating goodwill

Chapman has put her finger on an important aspect of all tractor runs, whether in summer or at Christmas: they bring the community together. Jackie Harding is a sports psychologist and therapist whose Soul Trainer business sponsors the Chew Valley Tractor Express on Christmas Eve. She says: “I marshalled the run for the first time last year and found out what it was all about. We had 37 tractors winding their way through all the villages here not far from Bath and Bristol. There were lots of young farmers and the tractors were wonderfully decorated, even though the weather was atrocious. It was just amazing to experience the joy it brings to the community, with all the children coming out on to the streets to watch. And it made me realise that it brings the farmers into the heart of the community. Farmers are often left working on the farms and very isolated. They are constantly busy but we don’t quite know what’s involved. A lot of us living in this area are commuting and we get stuck behind tractors and become frustrated.”

At a time when the weekly livestock market has nearly disappeared and many mechanised farms are almost one-man businesses, farmers sometimes feel they face a barrage of criticism and very little acknowledgement of their work. Sheepy Ploughing Association holds two runs each Christmas in the Midlands beginning in Coventry and going round Atherstone, Nuneaton, Bedworth and surrounding villages. Organiser Charles Goadby agrees with Harding: “We are so pleased to be able to raise money but it is also about the goodwill it generates and that the community is coming out and backing British farming.

“People are watching Clarkson’s Farm and it is bringing the reality of farming into their living rooms,” Goadby continues. “Not long ago there were plans to stop red diesel, so I went online to say this would make the tractor run impossible and the response was incredible; it nearly broke the internet. Our tractor run isn’t the biggest – we have 75 tractors – but we have thousands of people who come out. And as we go round, the number of children on their pedal tractors is great. It is bringing community to the villages and small towns that we visit. We have people organising yard parties and putting little marquees up. I couldn’t put a figure on how much money it is raising for charity in total. We raised £21,000 last year alone – and we are one of the smaller runs. There are hundreds up and down Britain; I can think of five within just a few miles of us. When you add it all up, the money raised must run into the millions.”

One of the biggest runs, with more than 300 tractors taking part, the South Leicestershire- based Archers Festive Charity Tractor Run is now in its fourth year and has already raised more than £150,000 for local charities. Organiser Ryan Archer takes about 12 hours to decorate his tractor. “People put so much effort into making their tractors look amazing. It’s been described as ‘Christmas on wheels’; it’ll be quite a sight and we’ve got lots of people coming out to see us,” he says.

Of course all these tractors need someone at the wheel, and the driving force behind the tractor run is often the local YFC. The Suffolk YFC run sets out early in December, with last year’s starting from Mowness Hall at Stonham Aspal and proceeding along a 30-mile route, including Framlingham and Debenham. Suffolk YFC social secretary Katherine Cross, driving a fancy green Fendt tractor, was assisted by Suffolk YFC chairman Louise Davy, both wearing elf gear. Cross reported: “The vintage convoy was escorted by young farmer Harry Sucking and the modern convoy was led by our vice-chairman, Will Pratt, followed by me and Louise. We were delighted with a record-breaking turnout of about 135 tractors.”

Coming together

Steve Brown, chairman of the Knaresborough YFC, admits: “Ours must be one of the biggest in the country these days, with 400 tractors. It was just about 20 of us to begin with, and then it got bigger and it just kept on growing. One of our original members who drove his tractor was Michael Spink, and when he died in 2017 while out working in New Zealand we knew we had to keep it going in his memory. He was a supporter of Yorkshire Air Ambulance, so that’s who we raise funds for and we have raised well over £100,000. Countrywide, the runs must have raised millions so far,” he says. “We have created a monster but everybody looks forward to it.”

Several organisers mention COVID-19 and lockdown as triggers for thinking of a way to give people a bit of outdoor fun and then bring the community back together once the pandemic was over. In Italy during their lockdown, Italian communities played violins and sang to each other across the narrow streets of their medieval towns. In the British countryside, romantically, we drove our tractors past your window.

Find Christmas tractor runs near you.

14 December, East Sussex Visit ‘Ringmer Charity Christmas Tractor Run’ on Facebook

14 December, Oxfordshire Visit: steamheritage.co.uk/ steam-rallies-and-events/event/ charity-christmas-tractor-run

20 December, Northamptonshire Visit: stonesidingevents.com

21 December, Herefordshire Visit ‘When Farmers Do Christmas’ on Facebook

22 December, Gloucestershire Visit ‘Horton Christmas Tractor Road Run’ on Facebook

24 December, Somerset Visit: chewvalleytractorexpress.com

To find out more about Christmas tractor runs happening near you, contact your local Young Farmers’ Club or visit: nfyfc.org.uk