‘Flying Santa’ Made it to Annual Fire Island Christmas Party Despite Snow and Freezing Temperatures

The snow and freezing temperatures couldn’t keep Santa away from Fire Island’s annual Fire Island Lighthouse Christmas party.

This year was the 15th annual re-enactment of a 1953 aerial delivery of Christmas gifts to Godfried Mahler, then lighthouse keeper, and his family. Although there was no ‘Flying Santa’ this year, Santa still showed up by car.

The tradition stems back to 1929, when isolated lightkeepers and their families received gifts from planes who dropped off goods like newspapers, spices and toys because the lightkeepers were secluded on islands along the New England coast during the holidays.

Every year, ‘Flying Santa’ shows up to the party in a vintage plane to deliver holiday gifts to the kids, reenacting the first aerial delivery to the then-lighthouse keeper Mahler, his wife Marilyn and their two sons, Gottfried and Richard. However, the snow halted the plane tradition this year. Despite the conditions, nearly 200 people showed up to the party – and Santa was on one of them.

The Fire Island Lighthouse Preservation Society hosts the annual event. David Griese, executive director of the organization, called it a “great time for people to come out and celebrate the season.”

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