Florida beach town inspires global Surfing Santas craze
Cocoa Beach’s annual Christmas Eve Surfing Santas tradition draws thousands of visitors each year. Coastal communities around the world have embraced the surfing St. Nick phenomenon with their own twists.
A surfer dressed up as Mrs. Claus during the annual Surfing Santas event, held as part of Christmas Eve celebrations at Cocoa Beach, Florida, on Dec. 24, 2025. (Photo by Jesus Olarte/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Santa has many talents, and on Florida’s Space Coast, hanging ten and jumping out of helicopters to catch a wave is among them.
This year’s Surfing Santas event in Cocoa Beach, Florida, continued a holiday tradition that began in 2009, when a local surfer and his family paddled out dressed as Santa and elves.
Over the years, the Christmas Eve celebration has grown into one of Cocoa Beach’s most recognizable holiday events, drawing larger crowds and more costumed surfers each season. This year was no exception, featuring Santa parachuting from a helicopter into the Atlantic Ocean and a playful SpaceX vs. Blue Origin-themed “surf-off.”
Cocoa Beach had near-perfect weather for the event, with a sunny sky and a high of 76 degrees Fahrenheit on Wednesday.
But the Surfing Santas spirit isn’t limited to our side of the Atlantic.
Paddleboarders dressed as Santa Claus paddle along the city's coast during a Santa Claus paddleboarding event called "The Santa SUP," in Thessaloniki on Dec. 21, 2025. (Photo by Sakis Mitrolidis / AFP via Getty Images)
In Greece, dozens of Santas took part in the annual “Santa SUP” event, paddleboarding together on the Thermaikos Gulf.
In Scotland, surfers dressed as Santa were spotted riding waves Tuesday in Newburgh, near Edinburgh, braving far colder conditions.
Instructor and lifeguard Finn Clark, from Gorebridge, dressed as Santa Claus for a surfing session at the Lost Shore Surf Resort in Newbridge, near Edinburgh, on Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025. (Photo by Jane Barlow/PA Images via Getty Images)
Hundreds of red-suited surfers also joined the fun along the North Sea coast in The Hague, Netherlands, paddling out on Dec. 21 for the annual “Surfin’ Santas” event at Scheveningen Beach.
Large crowds gather on the coast of The Hague, Netherlands, on Dec. 20, 2025, as hundreds of surfers dressed in Santa Claus costumes take to the waves for the annual ''Surfin' Santas'' event. (Photo by Mouneb Taim/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Whether in boardshorts or wetsuits, the message is the same: holiday cheer travels well, even by surfboard.
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