THE gods of Christmas have smiled upon the staging of the 2016 Rotary Carols by the Beach extravaganza.

There was a contingency plan to use the PCYC hall in Jubilee Pocket if the weather turned nasty but, fortunately for the hundreds of punters assembled on the lawn of the Airlie Beach foreshore, the back-up plan was not enacted.

The magic scene of littlies dressed in red and green and excited beyond belief at the chance of seeing Santa was a sight to behold.

Little Harrison Lovekins was all dressed up in an elf costume and was beaming before taking to the stage with the Cannonvale State School.

The joy was obvious on his face and his excitement palpable.

As the evening progressed, the crowd of children gathering at Santa's chair grew before the man himself made his appearance known to the sound of "ho ho ho”.

He was soon surrounded by kids, all eager to place their Christmas orders and receive a Christmas lolly bag.

Administrator of the Airlie Beach Rotary Club Dalwyn McErlane said the turn-out was similar to last year but after realising the food had run out she restated her position and said the numbers were up on last year.

Ms McEarlane said the Carols by the Beach event not only brought out the Whitsunday community but most of the Rotarians got involved with running the event on the night.

"It's a great night, I mean look at all these lovely people here having a good time,” she said.

The Carols by the Beach in the Whitsundays has been running for 27 consecutive years and was for a time run by the Whitsunday Chamber of Commerce before the Rotary Club of Airlie Beach started running it more than 10 years ago.

Ms McEarlane, on behalf of Rotary, wished to thank the community for their support of the event.

"And we would like to thank the Whitsunday Regional Council for their support and Airlie Beach Music, who go above and beyond for us also,” she said.