Last year, Santa's helicopter landing and the float's first night on the streets fell on the same Sunday. This year they are eight days apart. The "Santa Takes Flight" kickoff at Robinson Helicopter Company is Saturday, November 21. The float's tour of Torrance's residential streets starts Sunday, November 29, and runs 22 nights in a row, ending Sunday, December 20.
So there are two dates to plan around. One is the landing, a single citywide event on Airport Drive. The other is the night the float comes down your block, and that date depends on which of the major streets box in your neighborhood. The Torrance Police Officers' Association has already posted that full calendar.
The landing is a party. The route is the tradition.
The Torrance Police Officers' Association, Torrance Police Foundation, and Robinson Helicopter Company announced the 2026 kickoff as the "2nd Annual" Santa Float Kickoff Event. It runs 4 to 8 p.m. at 2901 Airport Dr. It is free, but you register in advance through Eventbrite. The announced program includes:
- Santa arriving by Robinson helicopter, followed by photos with Santa
- A European-inspired Christmas market
- Local school choirs and a live band
- Food trucks and a beer garden
- Kids' activities
- A toy drive for the Torrance Police and Fire Departments
That is a bigger event than last year's. In 2025 the landing was a 4 p.m. arrival on Sunday, November 30, in a red Robinson R66. Robinson handed out toy helicopters and R66 beanies, and Santa then boarded the float for the first night of the route. The Daily Breeze's photo coverage of that afternoon reported that hundreds came. Now that the landing has its own Saturday with a market and a band, it is a separate outing. The float no longer has to leave from it.
The route has always been the main event. It is what the officers built the float for, and it is what came close to disappearing.
Why every street matters again
The float first went out in 1969. In 1992 a group of officers rebuilt it from scratch on a new trailer: Lyndal Spradlin, Mike Terry, Steve Badenoch, Steve Ross, Mike Wheeler and Tim Hillis. A sign on the float still reads "Dedicated to the Children of Torrance…1992." For decades the goal was simple: visit every residential street in Torrance between Thanksgiving and Christmas.
That ended in 2020. Robinson's 2025 announcement said COVID and staffing problems cut the schedule to 10 nights at fixed spots: the Torrance Beach parking lot, City Hall, and several major parks. For six seasons, families drove to Santa instead of Santa coming to their curb. In 2025, a multi-year commitment from Robinson and the Torrance Police Foundation brought back the full residential route, and Van Lingen Towing supplied the truck and crew to pull the float.
TPOA president Marc Sandoval told the Daily Breeze how the float started:
"The idea was first conceived by a group of dedicated police officers who wanted to share the joy of the season with the children and families they were proud to serve. What began as a simple sketch on the back of a napkin soon became a reality through the hard work and dedication of the entire Police Officers' Association and its members."
This December is the second full-route season since that return. The schedule shows how the city is divided up to make it work.
Twenty-two nights, cut along the arterials
Each night of the tour covers one area bounded by major streets, and each area has a numbered route map. The map numbers don't run in date order. Map 9 goes first, and Map 1 falls on the eighth night. Here is the full 2026 calendar as the TPOA published it:
| Date | Start | Map | Area |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sun., Nov. 29 | 4:00 p.m. | 9 | PCH to Winlock/Rolling Hills Way to Hawthorne & west of DePortola Park |
| Mon., Nov. 30 | 5:00 p.m. | 2 | Carson to Sepulveda/Crenshaw to Western (Chatelaine) |
| Tue., Dec. 1 | 5:00 p.m. | 3 | Del Amo to Carson/Crenshaw to Western |
| Wed., Dec. 2 | 5:00 p.m. | 4 | Sepulveda to 239th St./Crenshaw to Arlington |
| Thu., Dec. 3 | 5:00 p.m. | 5 | Sepulveda to 242nd St./Arlington to Western |
| Fri., Dec. 4 | 5:00 p.m. | 6 | Sepulveda to Lomita/Hawthorne to Crenshaw (Springwood) |
| Sat., Dec. 5 | 5:00 p.m. | 7 | PCH to south city limits/Crenshaw Blvd. to east city limits |
| Sun., Dec. 6 | 4:00 p.m. | 1 | Carson to Maricopa/Madrona to Crenshaw |
| Mon., Dec. 7 | 4:00 p.m. | 8 | Sepulveda to PCH/west of Anza/Calle Mayor |
| Tue., Dec. 8 | 5:00 p.m. | 10 | Calle Mayor to south city limits/Southwest to Anza/Calle Mayor |
| Wed., Dec. 9 | 5:00 p.m. | 11 | PCH to city limits/west of Calle Mayor |
| Thu., Dec. 10 | 5:00 p.m. | 12 | Torrance Blvd. to PCH/Hawthorne Blvd. to Anza/Calle Mayor |
| Fri., Dec. 11 | 5:00 p.m. | 13 | PCH to south city limits/Hawthorne to Via Colusa and Calle De Ricardo |
| Sat., Dec. 12 | 5:00 p.m. | 14 | Torrance Blvd. to Sepulveda/west of Anza |
| Sun., Dec. 13 | 5:00 p.m. | 15 | Torrance to 190th St./Anza to Madrona |
| Mon., Dec. 14 | 5:00 p.m. | 16 | Del Amo to Torrance/west of Anza (Pacific Colony) |
| Tue., Dec. 15 | 5:00 p.m. | 17 | 190th St. to Del Amo Blvd./west of Anza Ave. |
| Wed., Dec. 16 | 5:00 p.m. | 18 | Artesia to 190th St./west of Prairie Ave. |
| Thu., Dec. 17 | 5:00 p.m. | 19 | Artesia Blvd. to 405 Fwy./Prairie to Crenshaw |
| Fri., Dec. 18 | 5:00 p.m. | 20 | Redondo Beach Blvd. to Artesia/west of Crenshaw to Hawthorne Blvd. |
| Sat., Dec. 19 | 5:00 p.m. | 21 | Redondo Beach Blvd. to Artesia/Crenshaw to Western Ave. |
| Sun., Dec. 20 | 4:00 p.m. | 22 | Artesia to 405 Fwy./405 Fwy. to Western Ave. |
The route moves across the city in a clear order. It starts at the southern edge near PCH and Rolling Hills Way. The first week covers the east side, between Crenshaw and Western. From December 7 to 12 it works through the western and southwestern areas around Anza and Calle Mayor. The central maps between Torrance Boulevard and 190th Street follow. The last nights cover North Torrance between Redondo Beach Boulevard, Artesia and the 405. If you live north of Artesia, the float reaches you the weekend before Christmas week. If you live near DePortola Park, it comes on opening night.
Most nights start at 5 p.m. Four start at 4 p.m.: November 29, December 6, December 7 and December 20.
Finding your block on the map
The schedule tells you the area. The numbered map tells you the streets. To pin down your night:
- Find your block's boundaries in the table above. If your street sits right on a boundary, like Anza or Crenshaw, check the maps on both sides of it.
- Open the matching PDF from the TPOA's Santa Float schedule page, which links all 22 maps by number.
- Write down the start time for that date. That is when the night's route begins, not when the float reaches your door.
- Check the TPOA page again before your night. The association says the float runs 22 days straight "barring any rain."
There is no live tracker. The published maps and the start time are the tools you get. In a 2015 Daily Breeze guide, sirens, music and flashing lights announced the float. For safety it didn't stop on major streets, but it did stop on residential streets so Santa's helpers could hand out candy canes. On a residential street, the sound is usually your first sign it's close.
What one season costs
The TPOA lists the yearly costs of getting the float out on the streets. Candy canes are the biggest item. The association buys about 30,000 a year, about $3,000:
- Candy canes: $3,000
- Drivers and volunteers to guide: $1,600
- Insurance: $1,200
- Repairs, new lights and refurbishing: $300 to $500
- Costumes: $340
- Detailing: $250
Some of it comes from local businesses. American Honda donates the generator that runs the float's music and chimney every year. When the tour ends, the float is stored free of charge in a hangar at Torrance Airport, a short drive from where Santa lands on November 21. The officers who ride and work the float do it on their own time, unpaid.
Local businesses that want a booth at the kickoff's Christmas market can find booth and permit requirements through the Torrance Police Foundation. Booth fees and sponsorships go to the foundation's youth programs and community outreach.
The same week downtown
The first week of the tour overlaps with Downtown Torrance's Holiday Stroll on Wednesday, December 2, from 4 to 8 p.m. around Sartori and El Prado. It has carolers, music, snowfall and its own Santa. That night the float is on Map 4, between Sepulveda and 239th Street and Crenshaw and Arlington. Families in that area can catch both on the same evening if they plan the timing. If you're downtown after dark, Irving Gill's 1912 station still stands on Cabrillo, and we wrote about what remains of it after The Depot restaurant closed.
The float's route is a good reminder of how Torrance divides along its major streets, and the Thompson Team works with those same boundaries every day. If you're curious what your home on that route is worth this season, request a free home valuation and we'll base it on the sales right around your block.
