Op-Ed: Santa loses his beard in 'heroic' abseiling-style entrance

Palm Beach Gardens - We all look forward to this time of year, but it's extra special for young children, especially when meeting the man who brings it all together - Father Christmas. Unfortunately for those at a shopping mall in Florida, his entrance didn't go as planned.

Children at The Gardens Mall in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, were awaiting Santa's grand abseiling-style entrance, before their hero caught his beard on the way down. And if that wasn't enough bad luck for the man in red and white, he also managed to lose his hat. While Santa continued to struggle his way down the rope, the announcer urged everyone to get behind him by singing "We Wish You a Merry Christmas". The video - which was uploaded on November 26 - has already received close to 39,000 hits. Let's hope a similar blunder doesn't occur on Christmas Eve, especially involving a chimney!