We’ve all seen the adverts featuring Coca Cola’s Christmas trucks bringing seasonal cheer to the masses as they pass through town, but did you know that you can actually see their trucks on tour throughout the UK this winter? Coke’s 18 wheeler vehicles are covered with over 30,000 bulbs to give them that Christmas feel, making them one of the most iconic trucks decorated for Christmas.
While some trucks now feature Christmas themed advertising there are a few who’ve taken a leaf out of Coca Cola’s book and decorated their vehicles with lights and decorations in preparation for the holidays. In Japan, up to £100,000 is spent decorating each truck at Christmas time, often with whole families participating in the decorating. The generators that power the lights can only be switched on for twenty minutes at a time or run the risk of overheating. The trucks, once decorated, are covered with lights and pictures, giving them their nickname of ‘light trucks’.
In Waimea, Hawaii, an annual Christmas Twilight Parade is held featuring semi-trucks all decorated for the occasions. Many will, apparently, keep their decorations up for the weeks around the parade. 18 wheelers are decorated for the parade, and are visible around Big Island during the holiday season.
Back in 2009, Kris Marshall of Iowa decided not to deliver the Christmas lights in his truck to his church as promised, and instead decorated his truck with them. 3,000 lights later and his small truck was covered, bringing seasonal cheer to the local area once the sun went down.
But if you think trucks decorated for Christmas bring only joy to the roads then think again. This winter, a man in Kansas was fined by police for decorating his vehicle with Christmas lights. Ticketed for potentially causing a distraction on the road and possibly being mistaken for an emergency vehicle, David Hill was ordered to remove the lights and fined almost $300. Talk about Christmas spirit!