In true capital style, Canberra's Santa was back on his bike before 8am, working off the eggnog, just hours after delivering presents all the way from Tharwa to Gungahlin.
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And it seemed he had set the tone for the rest of the capital's festive folk, who insisted on not to letting a few drops of rain get in the way of an active Christmas outside.
Santa (unmasked as mad cyclist Andrew Blair) admitted that the "the beard was a bit dangerous" and kept getting in his eyes, but that did not stop him leading the Christmas cavalcade, which bypassed the Lodge just before 8.30am.
Down at Lennox Gardens, the city's penchant for activity was alive and well, with three generations of Canberrans in the Shannon family coming together for a nostalgic breakfast.
Gordon Shannon said they chose the spot because of family links to the former farm on Lake Burley Griffin's Springbank Island.
On the coast, other Canberrans were observing the holiday pilgrimage out in the surf, then downing buckets of prawns.
Frequent Canberra Times contributor and keen kayaker, Paul Jurak, posted pictures of a Christmas stand up paddleboard at Crescent Head.
Elsewhere back in town, some low-key preparations for the Asian Cup were underway, with Kuwait's Asian Cup team posting a photo of their morning stroll.
