'Tis the season, and for the Okotoks Alliance Church, that means bringing out all the stops to make giving as festive as possible.
Its latest contribution to the Okotoks Food Bank saw the church fill an antique sleigh with a whopping 1,356 pounds of food.
"Dozens of families from Okotoks committed to support families through Christmas and the challenges this year, and I think it'll really make an impact on our food bank," said associate pastor Gay Spence.
The church's Christmas food drive continues through the season, and food bank donations are still being accepted.
"We'll definitely always take food for the food bank, always," said Spence. "If it's a convenient stop for people, we will definitely continue to take food."
When lead pastor Ian Trigg's friend offered to lend a sled to the church, he didn't know what to expect.
"I thought we were going to get a little sled that you go down a hill with, then this thing comes... it's almost a 150-year-old sled, and it's in mint condition. It's such a neat thing," said Trigg.
The sleigh is believed to have been built by the McLaughlin Motor Company in 1878.
"They made all the carriages and sleighs back in the 1800s in Ontario, and joined up with Buick to form a new little company called General Motors of Canada, and made the first automobile," explained Trigg, a self-proclaimed vehicle geek.
Sleighs like this one were used to carry items such as food in the olden days, something that Trigg finds poetic.
"I just like the image of this old piece of transportation still being used to deliver food to people," he said.
"We're just really grateful that our church gets to play a little part in stocking the shelves."
The Okotoks Alliance Church's other holiday activities included last weekend's Home for Christmas concert by the Foothills Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus.
