Restaurant staff will dress up as festive characters to raise money for charity.

Members of the Crafty Chooks team will don elf costumes and serve up Christmas-themed dishes to raise money for the Rocking-horse Appeal at the Royal Alexandra children’s hospital, the Trevor Mann Baby Unit in Brighton, and the Special Care Baby Unit in Haywards Heath.

The bar and rotisserie in Second Avenue, Hove, is taking part in the campaign on December 12, when the charity asks people to dress up in red and green to fund specially made toy boxes for long term patients.

There will be rewards for customers who also go an extra step for the cause, and a menu including themed stuffed pastry parcels, risotto and steak will be on offer.

Leo Day, director of the Golden Lion Group, which owns Crafty Chooks, said: “We’ll ensure there is a real party atmosphere so everyone can have a lot of fun while raising money for Rockinghorse. There can’t be a better time of year than Christmas to help provide toys for children who spend long periods of time in hospital.”

Analiese Doctrove, head of fundraising at Rockinghorse, said: “We’re really pleased Crafty Chooks are supporting us again.”