On Christmas Eve, Santa traded in his sleigh for a boat and water skis along the waterfront of Old Town Alexandria in Virginia. He even brought along some of his reindeer to ski alongside him on Saturday.
Sometimes, it’s chilly during the annual tradition.
“One year, there was ice along the shoreline” said an onlooker, but the weather did not bother Santa, who is from a place much colder than Alexandria.
“What is it like 50 degrees [this year]? So the waters are probably 30 degrees,” said another girl standing on the lookout for a boat pulling Old Saint Nick.
Santa water-skis along the Old Town Alexandria waterfront every Christmas Eve, going back almost 40 years. The volunteer-led show started in the late 80s.
“Our neighbors did this back in like the 90s. He was the original guy. And so we started going because of that. And then went every single Christmas,” said Cameron Benedict, whose brother performed as a reindeer on the water one year.
“I was afraid that he was going to fall,” Benedict said.
Along with skiing Santa, there was a snowman on a boat, Jack from “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” film and several elves on Jet Skis. There was even “Max and the Grinch,” who tried to steal Christmas presents from his Jet Ski.
“It seems that he is throwing presents into the water because he’s mean and he stole Christmas,” said a boy watching it unfold from the shoreline. He threw a rock into the water, and then loudly “booed” the Grinch.
The presents were later retrieved by Santa’s helpers on a boat.
