Maui Now ‘Ohana: Catch a Ride on “Da Maui Sleigh”

Santa and his elves give the keiki a ride

Da Maui Sleigh brings Christmas cheer to young and old each holiday season. I recently had the pleasure of interviewing James Presbitero whose family has been operating “Da Maui Sleigh” for more than a decade. In fact, this year marks their 17th year of sleighing down the streets of Maui!

James Presbitero and his father started “Da Maui Sleigh” 17 years ago

Riding on the sleigh has always been free of charge to the community. Donations of money, decorations and time are greatly appreciated as it costs anywhere from $3,000 to $6,000 to build and operate the sleigh each year. They estimate nearly 5,000 kids ride the sleigh each holiday season. This year, it took only three days for their calendar to fill up entirely with requests.

The sleigh visits numerous neighborhoods across Maui. To find out when they’ll be in your neighborhood, you can visit their Facebook page. If you’d like to help make a donation of time, materials, services or money you can contact James via Facebook messenger.