The Christmas season is the only time I think happy thoughts about freezing winter temperatures. I grew up in New England, and for me, it just doesn’t feel like the holidays if it isn’t cold enough that snow might fall.

This year, though, I took a different approach to Christmas. That’s how I found myself in Cocoa Beach, Florida, standing ankle deep in ocean water that was warmer than the air, at Surfing Santas.

I wrote about the experience, which had 600 Santas on surfboards and another few thousand watching them from the shore, for Forbes. Read the story here, or just enjoy these photos of the most festive beach tradition I’ve ever seen.