From surfers in the Isle of Wight to abseilers in Tokyo, the Santa suits have come out to play as Christmas appraoches. Even the animals want a piece of the action as elephants in Thailand donned Santa costumes.
Other news around the globe: We saw New Zealand hit by another earthquake and violence erupting in Syria. Street performers put on a show at the Ritual Cyborg festival in Indonesia and watchful lemurs kept an eye out for treats at Edinburgh Zoo. Catch this all in pictures of the day.