Sweden’s houses should be able to cope when Santa and his sleigh land on their snowy roofs this Christmas – as long as he doesn’t try to deliver too many presents in one go.
The portly Father Christmas probably weighs about 150 kg (330 lb) and his reindeer and sleigh a tonne, the Swedish construction company NCC calculated, allowing another 50 kg for gifts.
Swedish building requirements would easily handle that weight, plus 50 percent extra pressure from the force of the landing on the roof, and half a meter of snow, construction designer Thomas Lecher said