Faux snow, giant sand Christmas trees, surfing Santas: Florida, Palm Beach County traditions (2024)

Christmas across most of the U.S. may invoke images of caroling in coats and mittens, roasting chestnuts by the open fire and sipping hot cocoa in pajamas; but in Florida? That just rings a little too stifling for our balmy 70-degree climate.

We do holidays a little differently in the Sunshine State. Some warm-weather switch ups may be simple, like forgoing matching pajamas and slippers for shorts and bare feet while gathered around the tree. But we've come up with some bigger twists on tradition as well.

We celebrate with surfing Santas, an all-sand Christmas tree and lighted boat parades down popularly-treaded waterways.

Keep reading for Christmas and holiday traditions that are purely Florida.

Eating Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner al fresco

In many places across the U.S., the weather is too cold to even think about spending the holidays anywhere but inside a heated space. In Florida, where the average daily temperatures in November and December are in the 70s, Thanksgiving and Christmas are often an outdoor affair.

Christmas dining in South Florida: Best restaurants for Christmas Eve, Christmas dining in Palm Beach County

Surfing Santas in Florida

Everyone’s seen picture after picture and movie after movie depicting Santa Claus soaring through the night sky on a sleigh pulled by his eight (and sometimes nine) loyal reindeer. In Florida, Santa prefers the spray of a cool ocean wave touching his face as he surfs from community to community.

A celebration in Cocoa Beach has hundreds of surfers dressed as Santa take to the beach Christmas Eve morning as thousands of others spectate this uniquely Florida holiday tradition. But it doesn’t end simply at Cocoa Beach. The event has inspired other towns, including parades featuring surfing Santas.

Christmas, holiday trees of sand and surfboards in the public squares around Florida, Palm Beach County

Nothing is more traditional than a Christmas tree in the public square, but West Palm Beach is home to the world's only 700-ton holiday sand tree. The tree's name is Sandi, and every year she rises on the city's waterfront, freshly sculpted and ready for a month of being center stage of a nightly music and light show.

Across the Intracoastal on the island of Palm Beach, another kind of Florida Christmas tree is erected, this one made annually of surfboards — designer surfboards, to be exact. Each year, in the Royal Poinciana Plaza, a fashion icon makes the tree their own putting their spin on the boards stacked to a perfect pinnacle. Past designers have included Iris Apfel, Ashley Longshore, Gray Malin and Donald Robertson. This year, the tree is sporting the signature red, white and blue stripes of designer Thom Browne.

Lighting up the palm tree

Trimming a Christmas tree in lights and ornaments is a fine holiday tradition; but in Florida, many of us opt to light a palm tree instead. While most palm trees are not native to Florida — or even technically a tree at all — these large, woody herbs have been adapted into our culture and are often included in popular depictions of the state.

Visitors will often find light displays illustrating outlines of holiday-themed palms while perusing Christmas lights. And many people choose a palm tree over a fir or spruce to decorate at home.

Decking the halls chairs

Decking the halls is the tradition of decorating your space for Christmas — something Floridians are, of course, also known to do. But some of Florida’s sandier places have another tradition: decking the chairs.

Deck the Chairs is a Jacksonville Beach event that draws in crowds of people from all over to check out the sprawling holiday lights display. Beach chairs aren’t found solely in Jacksonville Beach, however. Throughout Florida, you’re sure to find a beach chair or two “decked” to the nines in holiday decor.

Frosty the sandman?

Snow is a luxury typically only seen in the Florida Panhandle every handful of years. So, in lieu of building snowmen, you might stumble upon a sandy homage to everyone’s favorite frozen friend with a sand sculpture. But sandmen aren’t the only things found on the beach. Sand sculptures can be found of Christmas trees and other holiday-themed concepts.

Going to the beach instead of the movies on Christmas

Going to see a new movie on Christmas is a popular holiday tradition that is also observed by Floridians, but many others choose another destination to visit once they’re done unwrapping presents: The beach.

With temperatures around Christmas still hovering in the mid-60s to the high-70s, spending an hour or two unwinding at the beach before heading to a chaotic family dinner could be just what the doctor needed. It’s also a great time to check out some of the other fun Florida holiday traditions listed here.

Having to intentionally buy an ugly sweater for your ugly Christmas sweater office party

While many Floridians tend to be transplants given the state’s number of armed service members and retirees, most natives likely don’t have an “ugly” Christmas sweater unless it was purchased specifically for a themed party. The reality is that Floridians just don’t have an many opportunities to wear those ugly sweaters outside of those fleeting moments of fun.

Lighted boat parades

While many states light up parade floats, Florida lights up parade boats. That’s right, lighted boat parades are a special holiday activity that can be found in many coastal communities, including several in Palm Beach County. These festivities include everything you might think: Fleets of boats adorned in holiday decorations and lights that cruise along the coast, often with hoiday music blasting from the vessels.

Many of these parades have adjacent events, where people celebrate with parties before or after the parade launch.

In Palm Beach County, the parades begin at the start of the month. This year, these include North Palm Beach on Dec. 2, the Boynton Beach parade Dec. 8, one on Lake Wellington on Dec. 9, and one in Boca Raton on Dec. 16. Of course, it's Florida, so boat parades cover the state. Some of the largest examples of lighted boat parades can be found at Walt Disney World, the Newport Beach Christmas Boat Parade and the Seminole Hard Rock Winterfest Boat Parade at Fort Lauderdale.

Let it (faux) snow!

Snow has actually fallen in Florida — the first documented account being in 1774. And snowfall in December? It's happened five times, the most recent falling on Dec. 23, 1989, when Jacksonville recorded its first white Christmas.

But that doesn't stop Floridians from faking it. It has become holiday tradition at The Square in West Palm Beach to pipe out flurries nightly three times on the hour. Just don't look too closely — the flakes are more like bits of sudsy bubbles that melt when they lands. (If you want a for-real icy experience, you'll have to head for an ice skating rink, something West Palm Beach also has.)