The Manhattan Beach Santa Float has been a tradition in the beachside community for over 50 years.

Two years ago, the float received a complete remodel. It’s a restoration the Kiwanis Club of Manhattan Beach said the float desperately needed.

But before, the holiday routes were ready, Christopher Richardson, a five-year volunteer Santa, needed to prepare his own look.

“Every time I visited, it was a real bearded Santa. It wasn’t just a fake beard and that made it so much more real,” Richardson said.

Richardson has his hair bleached every season to embrace the look and provide that same experience. For about three weeks, he’ll travel on the float, leaving the North Pole to greet everyone with a grand arrival, music and, of course — a photo with Santa.

“We’re a victim of our own success,” Santa Float Chairman for the Kiwanis Club of Manhattan Beach, Steven Carvel said.

Carvel says the online Santa Tracker brought in bigger crowds, meaning, more candy canes to hand out and more time needed with Santa. To compensate, the volunteers added a few extra days and strategically planned the routes to give everyone a chance to see the float.

“I remember they wouldn’t really announce when Santa was coming by you just kind of waited. I grew up on Ardmore [Avenue]. So, we just kind of waited in front of our house every night, starting after Thanksgiving, hoping that he would come by,” parent, Ashley Stevenson said.

Seeing the sleigh now, she said she gets to share that same magic she felt with her own children.

It’s stories like Stevenson’s that Richardson said kept him on the sleigh. It’s a time where Richardson said he can spread joy. That’s why he plans to make it back on the sleigh every year, until his hair naturally turns white. The float begins each route at about 4:45 p.m.

To donate or view the Santa Tracker, visit www.manhattanbeachsantafloat.com.