Florida is not quite the go-to destination for Christmas. It’s typically still pretty warm in December and it’s hard to get that holiday feeling when you’re wearing shorts and t-shirts still. And even after about 10 years in Florida, it does feel odd still to see snowflake lights on palm trees. But if you do find yourself celebrating Christmas in Florida, there are quite a few things to do and some more unique options as well! We do have to overcompensate after all.
Christmas in Florida
Each year it seems there are more and more Christmas events popping up around the state. And even though the temperatures are hot, a lot of events try and bring the winter vibes with fake snow, ice sculptures, etc. Here are some popular things to do for the holiday season:
Sandi Land: Holiday in Paradise
West Palm Beach
Holiday in Paradise, aka Sandi Land, is where you can find a Christmas tree made out of actual sand. Each year, they bring in 700-tons of sand to create Sandi, a 35-ft sand tree. You can visit at night to see Sandi all lit up.
In addition to the sand tree, there are surrounding sand sculptures to look at along the waterfront, a Ferris wheel and some photo ops. There’s also several events throughout the month of December to go to like a pancake breakfast, outside movie (Screen on the Green) and nights with jazz music.
Night of Lights
St. Augustine
The Night of Lights in St. Augustine is one of Florida’s top holiday destinations. St. Augustine is a beautiful, historic city and the oldest city in the US! There’s a lot to see here–a lot of historical buildings and it happens to be nearby the beach as well.
For the holiday season, the city transforms for its annual Night of Lights event where the whole town is adorned in Christmas lights. It’s a beautiful city in general, but add Christmas lights everywhere and you can imagine how magical it is to explore. Spending a weekend in St. Augustine is the perfect amount of time to take in the city and the lights!
Santa’s Enchanted Forest
Miami
Santa’s Enchanted Forest is the world’s largest holiday theme park and is located in south Florida. I heard about it a lot when I was living in Miami but always assumed it was a little more geared towards families with kids. There are a ton of rides (over 100!), carnival games, shows, food and lots of holiday lights and decor.
It’s been around for 40 years and has become a holiday staple in South Florida. There are a LOT of things to do here so make sure you plan accordingly.
Christmas at Universal and Disney Parks
Orlando
The amusement parks in Orlando are fun to go to at any time, but they go all out for the holidays. The amount of decorations they adorn the parks in makes it really fun to go to around the holidays. There are Christmas trees all over, garlands galore and holiday parades.
I’m more of a Universal person myself and deciding between Islands of Adventure or Universal Studios is tough but all the parks will be decked out for Christmas.
100-ft Christmas Tree
Delray Beach
The Delray Beach Christmas tree is also fun to see if you’re in the area. It’s the tallest in Florida at 100-ft tall with 18,000 ornaments and so. many. lights. You can go inside the tree to see four different displays and there are several activities for kids to do like ice skating, a carousal and mini golf.
Gaylord Palm’s ICE!
Orlando
ICE! at the Gaylord Palms was one of the events I was most excited to see. The theme changes each year but it’s essentially ten scenes of a Christmas movie made out of ice. And they go big for this because they actually bring in artisans from Harbin, China.
If you aren’t familiar with Harbin, it’s where you can find the largest ice and snow festival in the world and it’s MAGICAL. I was able to go when I was living in China and it was one of my favorite travel experiences probably ever.
For ICE!, you’re given a parka before heading into the 9º area where the sculptures are kept. It is COLD, so come prepared. Once you’re back out, you can browse the village or partake in the many other activities available. You can build snowballs, do some crafts, go tubing down ice slides and much more.
Disney Springs Christmas Tree Stroll
Orlando
A fun thing for kids to do in Disney Springs is the Christmas Tree Stroll. You don’t need a ticket to walk around and there are about 20 Disney-themed Christmas trees to find around the area. If you can fight through the masses, you might be able to get a map of where the trees are (we did not) and there are stickers to collect to check them off.
I have to add though, that I did expect more from the Christmas trees. I expected them to be decked out with Disney but some of the ones we saw were just so-so, some had a handful of ornaments on, and some were just pass-holder trees (which if you’re involved in the Disney world, I’m sure is more exciting). Also, the tree above is the main tree; all the others are normal size.
Enchant
St. Petersburg
Enchant Christmas has been on my radar for awhile and I finally got to visit one–just not the one in St. Petersburg. There are several locations around the country and I ended up going to the one in Kansas City for Christmas.
Enchant is a light maze where you can work your way through the maze to find different toys (that are also made of lights). There’s a holiday village you can walk through, photo ops everywhere, food trucks and ice skating around a track with what looks like a snowy white forest in the middle. I went with my mom and we had a BLAST. It was so cute and one of our favorite Christmas activities that we did.
Holiday Boat Parade
Palm Beach
The Palm Beach Holiday Boat Parade is where you can hang out along the waterways to see about 80 boats go by that are decked out in Christmas lights and festive decorations. The parade goes from North Palm Beach to Jupiter and a lot of public parks are where people go to watch them. But make sure you get to where you’re going early since several of the bridges close!
Snowcat Ridge Alpine Snow Park
Tampa
If you think you’ll miss the snow activities if you spend Christmas in Florida, you’ll want to head to Snowcat Ridge. You can get your real snow fix with a 400-ft tubing hill, igloos, ice skating and more. And you can do all the cozy things once you’re done–hang out at a campfire, make s’mores and even rent a private igloo. There’s also an Alpine Village to do some shopping.
Christmas Trees in Florida + Photo Ops
There’s several Florida Christmas trees and photo ops that are cute to see but only if you’re already in the area. I wouldn’t necessarily go out of the way to visit them but nice to keep in mind if you happen to be nearby.
Surfboard Tree – Palm Beach
It’s not uncommon to see beach-themed Christmas trees in Florida but this one is unique in that it’s all surfboards! The tradition started in 2018 and each year, the tree is designed by a different artist. It can be found at The Royal Poinciana Plaza on Palm Beach Island.
Eola Wonderland Christmas Tree – Orlando
Orlando’s Eola Wonderland Christmas Tree is a fun place to stop for photos as well. There are synchronized light shows at night and the walkway leading up to the tree is lined with palm trees and giant nutcrackers.
Brickell World Plaza – Miami
The Brickell World Plaza has also become a festive Christmas area. It’s a beautiful area and the palm trees are wrapped in Christmas lights, there are giant ornaments in the fountain and the building beside it has a giant wreath on it.
Giant Ornament – Lauderdale by the Sea
I ended up exploring Lauderdale by the Sea one day around the beginning of December and just happened to stumble across their Christmas decorations. They had a huge ornament nearby the food shack that’s a cute photo op near the palm trees. A very Florida Christmas picture.
Aventura Mall – Aventura (Near Hollywood)
If you need to do some holiday shopping, Aventura is where you’ll want to go. It’s the largest mall in Florida and has just about every store you’ll want/need and you can expect it to be decked out for the holidays. You can also take the kids to see Santa at the Holiday Village where you’ll find cute shops from local craftsman, holiday treats and photo ops.
Pop-up Christmas Bars
Pop-up Christmas bars have really taken off and they’re a fun, festive thing to do. It helps Christmas in Florida feel that much more Christmas-y. The Miracle pop-ups are extremely popular and have locations all over the country, with several in the major cities of Florida.
We have our own little pop-up nearby at the Wyndham Grand which is fun to go to for holiday drinks and the ambiance.
Christmas in Florida may look a little different but I think there are some great places to go to still get holiday vibes and cold weather activities.
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