Torrance's Santa Float Nearly Stalled Over a Tow Truck. In 2026 It Comes in Two Parts.

The Torrance Police Officers' Association Santa Float starts its 22-night tour of the city's residential neighborhoods on Sunday, November 29. The citywide celebration comes eight days earlier, on Saturday, November 21, at Robinson Helicopter Company on Airport Drive. Last year the kickoff and the first night of the tour were the same evening. Splitting them is the newest change to a tradition that came close to ending, held back by the cost of the truck and equipment it takes to pull a heavy sleigh down every street in Torrance.

What it takes to put the sleigh on a street

The float dates to 1969. After 24 years of touring, a group of officers led by Lyndal Spradlin bought a new trailer and rebuilt it from the ground up. The 1992 crew was Spradlin, Mike Terry, Steve Badenoch, Steve Ross, Mike Wheeler and Tim Hillis, and the float still carries a sign that reads "Dedicated to the Children of Torrance…1992."

The association's own Santa Float page lists what a season costs. The people riding and working the float do it on their own time, unpaid. The rest of the bill looks like this:

• Candy canes: about 30,000 a year, at roughly $3,000
• Insurance: $1,200
• Drivers and volunteer guides: $1,600
• Repairs, new lights and refurbishing: $300 to $500
• Costumes: $340
• Detailing: $250

Two of the float's most important pieces don't show up on that list because they're donated. American Honda Motor Company provides the generator that runs the music and the chimney every year. Torrance Airport stores the float in a hangar at no charge. The hangar has a history. On November 22, 1993, a week before the tour was set to start, the float was badly vandalized. Residents placed notices in the Daily Breeze asking for help, and the community and officers raised $8,000. About $3,500 got the float running again, the rest went into a repair fund, and the float went out on schedule the Saturday after Thanksgiving.

The float has always run on community donations like these. The one piece the association couldn't easily replace was the truck.

The years at the beach lot and City Hall

In 2020 the neighborhood tour was canceled outright. The Daily Breeze reported that COVID restrictions kept the association from running it. After that, the float shrank to 10 nights at major points of interest, including the beach parking lot at Torrance Beach, City Hall and several large parks. Robinson Helicopter attributed the cutback to COVID and staffing challenges. For most residential streets, that meant the float no longer came by.

The association's schedule page describes a more mechanical problem. The truck that towed the sleigh "has finally seen its last tour," and a replacement needs a specific heavy-duty tow package because the float is very heavy. The page also says the city didn't have the funds to help buy one, so the association would have to rely on members and community donations. A full route means 22 maps and 22 straight nights, barring rain. That's a lot of towing for a volunteer group without a truck.

Who holds which piece now

The rescue was announced in November 2025. It works because it divides the problem among partners. Robinson Helicopter and the Torrance Police Foundation made what Robinson's announcement called a multi-year commitment covering both restoring and operating the float. Van Lingen Towing provides the truck and the crew to pull it.

The towing role ties directly to the foundation. Rob Van Lingen is both president of the Torrance Police Foundation and owner of Van Lingen Towing, so the group helping fund the float also owns the truck that pulls it.

On Sunday, November 30, 2025, Santa landed at Robinson's campus in a red Robinson R66 helicopter, boarded the float, and started the float's first full residential route after what Robinson called a six-year hiatus. The Daily Breeze quoted TPOA president Marc Sandoval describing the original idea as "a simple sketch on the back of a napkin."

The kickoff now has its own night

In 2026 the helicopter landing becomes a separate event. The GlobeNewswire release from Robinson Helicopter calls it the 2nd Annual Santa Float Kickoff and gives it a name, "Santa Takes Flight." It runs four hours, on a different date from the tour's first night.

• When: Saturday, November 21, 4 to 8 p.m.
• Where: Robinson Helicopter Company, 2901 Airport Dr.
• Cost: Free, with registration through Eventbrite
• On the schedule: Santa's helicopter arrival, photos with Santa, a European-inspired Christmas market, local school choirs and a live band, food trucks and a beer garden, and kids' activities
• Bring: A toy for the drive benefiting the Torrance Police and Fire Departments

Holding the party on a separate night gives it room to raise money on its own. Local businesses can apply for Christmas market booths through the Torrance Police Foundation, and booth and sponsorship proceeds go to the foundation. In the release, foundation vice chair Rachael Steven said the goal is a night "where Torrance feels like one big neighborhood," and a chance for officers and residents "to connect outside of the moments when we need help."

The new date also puts the street tour back on its usual timing. The association says the float has typically gone out the Saturday or Sunday after Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is November 26, which makes November 29 the Sunday right after it. In 2025, the combined kickoff and first night pushed the start to November 30.

Finding the night it reaches your street

The 2026 route maps and dates aren't out yet. The release says they'll be posted in mid-November. Until then, last year's setup is the best guide:

1. Check the association's float page in mid-November. In 2025, Robinson pointed residents to the TPOA site for maps and dates. The schedule page still carried a 2024 heading this fall, so check that the year matches before you plan around it.
2. Find your area on the map, then the date. The 2025 schedule was organized by map area. Each night covered one area with a listed start time, and the tour ended Sunday, December 21.
3. Be outside early. Most 2025 routes started at 5 p.m., and some Sunday routes started at 4 p.m.
4. Allow for weather. The association says the tour runs 22 straight days "barring any rain."

The toy drive is part of the November 21 kickoff. On the route itself, the float hands out candy canes, about 30,000 of them in a typical season. The 2026 release says the float will visit every residential neighborhood in the city. That's the part that was missing from 2020 through 2024, and getting it back took a sponsor, a foundation and a towing company working together.

For more on Torrance's local calendar, see our look at the late-summer schedules that wind down before fall and our Torrance neighborhood page.

The Torrance Santa Float is back on every street because neighbors, local businesses and the police association each took on a piece of it. At Randazzo Real Estate, we keep up with the traditions that make our South Bay communities feel like home, and we'd be glad to talk about yours. If the season has you thinking about what your Torrance home is worth, request your free home valuation and we'll walk you through it.