’Twas the night after Thanksgiving when all through the little boroughs of Long Beach Island, we were bundling up in hopes that St. Nick soon would be there, arriving by a 20-foot center console.

Santa arriving by fishing boat is one of the most authentic holiday festivities we have here, a perfect cultural blend of feel-good yuletide celebration mixed with our coastal lifestyle. It’s one of those annual happenings that really speaks to our “life on a sandbar” attitude.