What’s the Latest With This Year’s Santa Flyover in Missoula?

It was a pretty cool sight in my neighborhood last year, as it was for neighborhoods all around Missoula when the Santa Flyover lit up the sky and put smiles on faces around the community. A lot of work went into getting Santa back in action last year and the good news is that it's looking like the jolly one himself will take to the skies again this holiday season.

Need a quick refresher course on the Santa Flyover?

The tradition of Santa and his reindeer lit up in lights and being accompanied by helicopter through the Missoula skies was an annual event for years. But when the business that sponsored the yearly flyover closed its doors it left Santa grounded and his sleigh ended up on the roof of another business.

The question of "what happened to the Santa Flyover?" was posted on Facebook last year and it started a groundswell of support to try and revive the tradition. The community rallied to raise funds and had Santa and the sleigh removed from the rooftop and restored. Eventually, a pilot was secured to help Santa once again make his rounds and provide holiday cheer throughout Missoula.

Where do things stand for a flyover this year?

The Santa Flyover page on Facebook has been pretty quiet since last December. The last real mention of the flyover was from this summer when someone posted and asked if it would be happening again for 2021. At the time organizers said they hoped to have it take place once again and said they were in the early stages of planning.

This week the question was asked again if we would see the Santa Flyover taking place for the holidays and the updated answer looks promising:

We are accepting donations for the flyover for 2021at the same link as last year. We are hoping to include Flathead if enough funds are raised. - Santa Flyover Organizers -

Not only are they working on bringing the flyover back but they're also hoping to reach a larger area.....NICE!

Let's make it happen!

It was pretty fun to see kids in the neighborhood waiting with anticipation until Santa and his lit-up sleigh came into view last year. They ran around the block trying to get the best view possible until the sleigh was out of sight. Hopefully, we'll be able to see Santa back in the sky spreading holiday cheer this year!

If you want to donate to the cause you can find more information on the Santa Flyover Facebook page.