Photo courtesy of the company

SeaSucker's main gig consists of vacuum-mounted marine accessories such as fishing rod holders, cup holders and dry boxes for kayaks and boats, as well as dive tank racks and utility-sport car racks. But this holiday season, the Bradenton-based adventure gear manufacturer went from the captain's seat to the driver's seat—outfitting their signature yellow and blue '66 Volkswagen Bus and '72 Volkswagen Beetle with hundreds of Christmas lights and decorations to spread the holiday spirit in the Tampa Bay area. 

"With how crazy 2020 and 2021 have been, we thought it was extra important to amp up the Christmas spirit and give back to our local community," says Founder Charles Casagrande. "The brighter the lights and the crazier the decorations, the bigger the smiles are going to be." The multitude of decorations are attached with SeaSucker's innovative vacuum mount technology, which is most famous for transporting bikes on supercars that go 160+ mph.

The Bus and Beetle are decorated for Christmas each December, but this year Casagrande was determined to make the holiday displays larger than ever. Almost 90 different SeaSucker vacuum mounts attach snow globes, Christmas trees, Santa's elves and other holiday favorites. The Bus features a 100+ pound caribou mount as well as a fully-functional hot chocolate station and train set. The Beetle has a slot car track where children can choose from a variety of cars to race along the top of the vehicle.

"When I was a kid, I had some young adults around me that spent a lot of time with me, showing me love and helping me grow," he shares. "My uncles made a big difference in my life. We are in a position to help others now, so looked for an organization that could help make kids happy and feel loved." 

The first of the vehicles' community appearances will be at the Boys & Girls Club of Sarasota Holiday Party on Friday, December 17. The sight of the two vintage vehicles decked out with the Grinch, the train from the Polar Express and dozens of Santas are sure to light up some faces—particularly the children and volunteers at the Club. In addition to the Boys & Girls Club, the SeaSucker Bus and Beetle will make an appearance at St. Armands Circle where Santa and the SeaSucker team will spread the holiday cheer serving up hot chocolate and handing out t-shirts from 6:30pm - 8:30pm on December 18. The cars will also make an appearance near the Riverwalk in downtown Bradenton from 6:30pm - 8:30 pm on December 22.

"We work very hard, we travel a lot and we look forward to every December so we can decorate the Bus and the Bug and make people smile!" says Casagrande. "Where else can you spend 20 minutes driving and make 50 people smile?" 

SeaSucker, LLC, 1912 44th Ave E., Bradenton, 941-900-1850. info@seasucker.com; seasucker.com; @seasucker; youtube.com/user/SeaSuckerVideos

Photo courtesy of the company