An Ambitious Skydiving Santa Had an Unfortunate Crash Landing

Not even the magic of Santa Claus could save one holiday Santa impersonator from an unfortunate crash landing during a skydiving experience this weekend in Florida, the AP reports. (While the Santa did break his leg, everyone else is otherwise unharmed — except for the Elf on a Shelf doll he was attempting to deliver as a present, which also suffered a leg injury.)

George Krokus was planning on making a festive surprise entrance to a charity volleyball tournament in Tampa Bay by skydiving down to spectators, where he planned to drop off the the elf toy to a 9-year-old girl. But without the direction of Rudolph and a seasoned team of reindeer, Krokus, suited up as Santa, instead found himself crashing into a tree and light pole before finally landing on the beach.

The Elf on a Shelf in question, named Kristoff, is an old friend of local resident Madison Spiers, who’s also the daughter of the event organizer. She told local news that Kristoff regularly “visits her house” around holiday time, leaving notes and engaging in pranks. Now, unfortunately, Kristoff has a bandaged leg — just like Krokus. There’s even a GoFundMe page for the medical costs.

The elf did manage to get a note through to Spiers, explaining the situation. “Don’t worry though…now G and I are resting in this hotel that they keep calling a ‘hospital’! G has reservations for a few more days, going to hang out with him so he doesn’t feel lonely!!” the note read. (Krokus is expected to make a full recovery, Bay News 9 reports.)

Next time, however, we’d recommend a sleigh.