Sheldon man’s ‘sleigh’ has 5,000 lights. Parents holler, kids cry with joy when it shows up
When Bam Robinson approaches the homes of families on Christmas Eve, the kids will be waiting. First, the wheels of his pickup truck will light up and then — bam! — the entire vehicle.
“The kids start hollerin’ when they see,” Robinson says.
Every Christmas, Robinson delivers gifts in a vehicle he bedecks with thousands of blinking lights, snowflakes and candy canes topped with a miniature Santa Claus. This is “Bam’s Sleigh.”
He’s also a showstopping fixture in Lowcountry parades. Lighted rigs celebrating holidays are not as uncommon today, but Robinson was ahead of his time. He hit the road in a glowing car in 2001, before it became popular, and he’s still at it, with 2021 marking his 20th year.
The visits from the man dressed as Santa driving a sleigh with wheels is emotional for kids and their families, who aren’t expecting a light show, much less gifts.
“Some of them be crying,” Robinson says.
He does it to bring light to the lives of families who need some at Christmastime. He does it because it’s a pleasure. And the spectacle is also an excuse to talk about the real meaning of Christmas.
Over the years, Robinson has watched the bright lights brighten moods, especially for those feeling down. It’s a pleasure, he says, to watch the reaction of people seeing the decorated vehicles for the first time.
And the eye-catching vehicles prompt conversations, which Robinson says are opportunities to talk about the birth of Christ. One of the windows on his lit ride reads, “Happy Birthday Jesus.”
“I said I was going to stop after 20 years,” Robinson said just after dusk, after he pushed a button and watched the decorated 2011 Dodge pickup come alive, “but the people aren’t going to let me stop.”
Color explodes from the vehicle, which is wrapped with 400 feet of cord with 5,000 lights — purchased each year after Christmas so Robinson can restock his inventory at cut-rate prices and prepare for next year. “I got lights forever,” he says.
Robinson, a truck driver who attended Battery Creek High School, has always wanted to “light up a car.” His first was a 1964 Impala station wagon. People still ask him when he’s going to bring back that wagon, which he still owns. “For some reason,” Robinson says, “they remember that station wagon.”
In subsequent years Lowcountry residents saw the Sheldon Santa, the guy with a soft spot for kids and folks down on their luck, driving a variety of decked out cars, vans, pickups and SUVs. They’ve ranged from a Chevy Van to a Lexus to a Cherokee Jeep to a Crown Victoria, all as bright as a Christmas tree.
‘It’s beautiful’
Robinson put the finishing touches on his sleigh one day earlier this month. Kneeling in the back of the pickup bed, a smart phone in hand, he connected Christmas music with a big Bluetooth speaker. The Jackson 5’s “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” blasted. Blinking red, orange, green and blue lights illuminated the dark.
It takes 10 hours to decorate a vehicle if he works non-stop. A generator in the back powers the lights. Robinson uses Gorilla Tape, billed as the toughest tape on the planet, to keep the bulbs in place. He needs to get the spacing right. And he has to make sure he doesn’t break bulbs when he opens and closes the doors. “I like everything to be nice and neat and even,” Robinson says.
Robinson pushes a button on a tire, and it lights up. He pushes another button, and the entire Dodge Ram glows, ready to roll in nighttime parades in communities such as Orangeburg, Hardeeville, Ridgeland and Walterboro.
“It’s beautiful to me,” says Cornelius Green, Robinson’s nephew, who helps his uncle with the lights each year. “We really do it for the kids.”
Each year, five families are selected to receive gifts, which include toys, clothes and even appliances. Robinson, with help from family members, spends $2,500 to $3,000. People also donate to the cause. The gifts are delivered on Christmas Eve.
“A lot of the kids don’t even know they are going to get gifts,” Robinson says.
This story was originally published December 19, 2021 at 7:00 AM.
