Traditional doesn’t have to mean boring, as people all across America prove with their quirky holiday traditions.
Thrillist compiled a list of our most offbeat Christmas festivities, such as:
Surfing Santas: In Cocoa Beach, Florida, you can watch multiple Kris Kringles hang ten — with one jumping from a helicopter into the ocean.
Hunt for Elves. No, not with crossbows. In Solvang, California, you can go to the Nisse Adventure, where visitors try to find one of the two-foot gnomes hidden around town — it’s a Danish tradition.
Creepy Christmas Boat Tour. Missouri’s Hancock County Marsh Coastal Preserve is a prime habitat for the rougarou, a werewolf-like creature from Creole folklore. Every December, he teams up with a bad Santa for a hair-raising ride through the bayou.
Golf with Aliens. In Medina, Ohio, you can visit Castle Noel, where you can sing carols with a Yeti, or golf with Santa and some alien elves — in 3-D, of course.