In depth · Christmas & New Year
Christmas in Florida: Nights of Lights, boat parades and winter sun
Florida’s festive season trades snow for sunshine. St. Augustine’s old town glows with white lights, yachts in fairy lights parade up the Intracoastal, Palm Beach dresses its palms, and New Year is celebrated on the beach.
Updated October 2026
Nights of Lights, St. Augustine
St. Augustine, founded in 1565, lights its historic district with white lights for Nights of Lights, from Saturday 21 November 2026 to Monday 18 January 2027, according to the city’s visitors bureau. Light-Up! Night on 21 November begins at 4pm in the Plaza de la Constitución, and the lights are switched on in the evening. No ticket is needed to walk the lit streets.
Our advice: stay the night in the old town and walk the Bayfront and Aviles Street after dinner, when the day-trippers have gone.
Boat parades
Florida’s waterways have their own way of celebrating. The Winterfest Boat Parade, in its 55th year, sails from the New River in Fort Lauderdale along the Intracoastal Waterway on Saturday 12 December 2026, from 6pm, a 12-mile procession of yachts in lights. Many other harbour towns hold lighted boat parades through December; check the local visitor bureaus for dates.
Christmas in Miami, Naples and Palm Beach
Miami opens the season with Art Basel Miami Beach on 4–6 December 2026 and ends it with fireworks over Biscayne Bay and the Three Kings on Calle Ocho. On the Gulf Coast, Naples holds its Christmas Walk and tree lighting on Fifth Avenue South in early December, and Naples Botanical Garden glows with Night Lights in the Garden. In Palm Beach, Worth Avenue’s palms and arcades are dressed for the holidays, the most elegant Christmas shopping street in the state. Our sister guides cover Miami and Naples in depth.
Christmas in Miami Christmas in Naples The Palm Beaches
New Year in the sun
New Year’s Eve in Florida is celebrated on terraces and beaches, with fireworks over the bays from Miami to Tampa. Orlando’s theme parks put on their own seasonal celebrations, and December and January are among the busiest weeks of their year: book hotels and park reservations early.
Questions and answers
When is Nights of Lights 2026 in St. Augustine?
From Saturday 21 November 2026 to Monday 18 January 2027.
When is the Winterfest Boat Parade 2026?
On Saturday 12 December 2026, from 6pm in Fort Lauderdale.
Where can you find Christmas in Florida’s cities?
See our Christmas pages for Miami and Naples.
Join the conversation
Spent Christmas in Florida? Share your favourite lights, parade or New Year spot.
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Dates are from the organisers’ and official tourism sites, read in October 2026. Where a 2026 date is not yet published we describe the tradition only. Check the official sites before you travel.