Santa's sleigh from ‘Elf' arrives in New York City for fan photos

The sleigh from the movie "Elf" traveled through the seven levels of the candy cane forest, past the sea of twirly-swirly gumdrops and then down the Long Island Expressway and through the Midtown Tunnel.

The 18-foot, one-ton sleigh -- with the Clausometer on the dashboard and Kringle 3000 jet turbine engine mounted underneath -- returned to Manhattan on Sunday for the first time since Buddy the Elf helped save Christmas two decades ago.

The sleigh got a police escort from its home at the Halesite Fire Department in the Town of Huntington on Long Island to Bergdorf Goodman department store on Fifth Avenue in celebration of the movie's 20th anniversary. It was on display between 57th Street and 58th Street, where fans of the film climbed aboard or stood alongside the sleigh for photos -- or, as some were saying: "Elfies."

"It's just bringing so much happiness and smiles," said Mark Bozek, a Huntington Bay resident who purchased the ginormous piece of movie memorabilia in an online auction for $12,000 shortly after the movie was released and later donated it to the local fire department. "It's a great, great feeling this time of year when everybody needs smiles, myself included."

Buying Santa's sleigh

At the time of the purchase, Bozek and his wife Susan had just moved to the neighborhood from Florida. They were throwing a holiday party to meet their new neighbors, and Mark said he was searching for unique holiday décor when he came across a two-week online auction offering props from the movie "Elf."

He was expecting to bid on an outfit from the movie or a bottle of syrup or something that would very easily fit in a garage...until he saw the sleigh and made an initial offer of $500.

"I thought I was going to get it for 500 bucks, but the last hour of the two weeks is when everybody tries to outbid you," Bozek said. "That's when my competitive juices got going. It just got kind of insane, but I wasn't going to lose at that point."

Not included in the $12,000 he paid for the sleigh was the cost of shipping it from Los Angeles, where he said it was on display at The Grove shopping mall. 

"So, I had to ship it for about as much as I paid for it from Los Angeles to my front lawn in Huntington Bay," he said.

It was then displayed on his front lawn for the holiday party.

"Then his wife said to him, 'Now what?'" said Larry Northcote, the Halesite fire district manager and volunteer firefighter. "They both talked about it and said, 'Wouldn't it be nice if we gave it to the fire department and they could use it as a holiday decoration?'"

Bozek's only ask was that they care for the sleigh in the same manner that Buddy would -- and return it if they ever decide to get rid of it. 

The sleigh has been used annually in Huntington's holiday parades and sits on display in front of the Halesite Fire Department throughout the season.

"Every year we have a little holiday committee, and they'll spruce it up, they'll paint it, they'll fix any cracks that have developed," said Northcote, who has dressed as Buddy the Elf and sat aboard the sleigh for many of the neighborhood's parades. "We do our little part to spread some holiday cheer."

The best way to spread Christmas cheer

The sleigh spread holiday cheer on Sunday on the outskirts of Central Park where Buddy -- portrayed by actor Will Ferrell -- and his family helped make it fly by restoring Christmas spirit.

The sleigh was trailered by a Halesite Fire Department pick-up truck driven by Northcote, who said he stayed in the middle lane of the Expressway, drove slowly over potholes, and got up to about 50 miles per hour at times -- on the odometer, not the Clausometer.

"But I would say most of the time I was doing between 40 and 45 on the Expressway," Northcote said. "Normally you get a different finger, but I got thumbs up."

The sleigh then went through the Midtown Tunnel -- a tribute to how Buddy first arrived in Manhattan to look for his father by walking through the Lincoln Tunnel. It arrived on Fifth Avenue, which has been closed to traffic between 48th Street and 59th Street on Sunday's during the holiday season, and movie magic became reality.

Some fans asked one another, "What's your favorite color?" A dog wore a green elf sweater in the sleigh and acted like a veteran reindeer. New York City mayor Eric Adams appeared for a photo op, giving a thumbs up in front of the sleigh.

"This time of year, bringing it to New York for the first time ever," Bozek said. "You can't make this stuff up."

Bozek, 63, had wanted to bring the sleigh into Manhattan for 10 years, but he struggled to find time to arrange the logistics required to transport Santa's non-flying sleigh from Long Island to the busiest city in the world. It all came together within days last week, he said, with the help of Laura Slatkin of NEST New York and Marie Ternes Boster of Fifth Avenue Association, who combined to help arrange the convoy and obtain the necessary permits.

"Then I called the New York State police and asked if they'd escort the sleigh into the city and they loved the idea," Bozek said. "So much so that the signs on the Grand Central Parkway that say 'No Trucks Allowed' now say 'No Trucks and No Sleighs Allowed.' They made that happen for this."

So, those who adore the classic holiday movie had to change their Sunday plans in order to see the sleigh and meet other humans who share an affinity for elf culture. Then they could go make snow angels for two hours, and then go ice skating, and then eat a whole roll of Tollhouse Cookie Dough as fast as they can, and then snuggle.

"I am a huge believer in discreetly giving out smiles," Bozek said. "In these not so great times that we're living in, if you can gesture something that’s going to bring happiness and smiles for a moment, you should."

Because, as Buddy the Elf once said, "I just like to smile. Smiling's my favorite!"