Celebrating South Florida’s Holiday Season — From a Distance

The holidays have always looked different in South Florida. We have boat parades and celebrations on the beach instead of snow, and weekends are usually filled with outdoor events as people take advantage of winter’s cooler, drier days. 

But this year, with COVID-19 restrictions in place, many crowd-gathering traditions have been canceled to keep people safe. 

Thankfully, some organizers are getting creative with their events and helping South Florida celebrate the season while staying socially distanced.

In Cooper City, the traditional tree- lighting event has been changed to several nights of guided tours through a holiday wonderland filled with carolers, holiday characters and snow. The Dec. 3-5 event is free, but registration is required. For more information, visit www.coopercityfl.org.

Coral Springs is keeping its holiday parade plans, but with a twist: The cars will drive by, while the floats remain stationary. The Holiday Drive-Thru Experience will be Dec. 9 along Sportsplex Drive. Learn more at www.coralsprings.org.

In Miami, the Florida Chamber Orchestra is planning its traditional holiday concert on Dec. 13 in a very untraditional setting: outside the Miami-Dade County Auditorium. Concertgoers will be guided to a parking spot, where they can tune in to a corresponding FM station to listen to the holiday performance. More information is available at www.miamidadecountyauditorium.org.

The Miami City Ballet is also taking the stage outside with The Nutcracker in the Park on Dec. 18-31 in downtown Doral Park. Visit www.miamicityballet.org to learn more.

Miami has two new lights and music drive-thru experiences this year. Santa’s Spectacular!  runs on select nights through Dec. 23 at Tamiami Park, and Bright Lights Miami runs through Jan. 10 at Virginia Key Beach Park. Prices are per car and reservations are required. Learn more at www.santaspectacular.com and www.brightlightsmiami.com.

And Broward County’s traditional Holiday Fantasy of Lights is back, through Jan. 2 at Tradewinds Park in Coconut Creek. For details, visit www.holidaylightsdrivethru.com.

There are many more holiday celebrations planned. For an extensive list of in-person events, please see our Joyful Celebrations on page 14, or visit our online calendar at www.southfloridafamilylife.com.