Our flight arrived early at JFK airport and it then took 2 hours in a crowded and stuffy immigration hall to get through. We had a booked a shuttle bus to get to our hotel in Manhattan that was easy enough but by the time he had set off, come back to the airport to pick up more customers and picked up more on the way it was rush hour and it took another 2 hours to get to the city, 15 miles away! So an inauspicious start but once we got there it was fantastic.

We stayed at the Holiday Inn Express on W 45th Street which couldn’t have been better placed for Times Square and 5th Avenue. The rooms were a little smaller than usual so with four of us in there it was a bit of a crush but we only slept there so it was fine.

We had 2 great days sightseeing both on the open top bus and on foot. We went to the Top of the Rock which was amazing, you could see the whole city for miles around, we also went on a boat trip around the island so we could see it from the East River and the Hudson River. It was very, very cold! You really do need thermal underclothes. The Christmas decorations and shop window displays were awesome, very impressive.

We also visited Central Park and watched the ice skating. Then on the Saturday before Christmas it was time for the Orlando part of our holiday and we were all ready for some sunshine. Unfortunately when we got to JFK all flights had been cancelled due to the incoming bad weather, there wasn’t a flake of snow at that point. Again we stood in line for 2 hours to be told we had been allocated a flight on Monday morning. Bad news but at least we weren’t on standby.

We then had to find a hotel and it really was a case of there being no room at the Inn. The only room we could get was at La Guardia airport 6 miles away which we took. Another 2 nights of sharing a room, eating takeaway food as there was nowhere to go and just kicking our heels in Queens! Actually there was a shuttle bus to a shopping mall so at least we got out for a while, by that time the snow had arrived and it was bad everywhere.

We finally got to our villa in Florida on Monday afternoon, greatly relieved to have actually got there and to feel the warm sunshine. Although the weather in Florida this winter has been colder than usual, for us at was positively balmy!

Christmas is a quite place in the summer, but bustles with activity prior to the Christmas holidays.  People line up to mail their Christmas cards and letters at the post office, to obtain the unique postmark of ‘Christmas, FL’

The post office is small, but modern and is located on the right, not long after the green ‘Christmas’ sign at the entrance to the town.  Year round, the post office is decorated with a wreath on the outside and a Christmas tree in its entrance.

Originally the town was called Fort Christmas, named when 2000 US Army Soldiers and Alabama Volunteers arrived on December 25th 1837 to construct the fort.  However, when the first post office opened in 1892, ‘fort’ was dropped from the name. 

The town has a small Christmas gift shop, and a Circle K convenience store.  For travellers, there is a choice of the Christmas RV Park, or the primitive camping site at Tosohatchee Reserve State Park.  For more comfortable accommodation, the nearest hotels are in Orlando or Titusville.

Capitalising on the name, there is a large Christmas tree marking one intersection, and on the top of a building in the RV Park is Santa’s reindeer and sleigh.

A replica of the original fort built in 1837 during the Seminole Indian War, is located a few miles north of the main highway, at the Fort Christmas Historical Park. The park also features a traditional Florida ‘Cracker’ house, a sugar cane mill, seven pioneer homes (showing life from the 1870’s through to the 1930’s) and historical farming equipment.  There are also picnic pavilions, themed children’s playground, a baseball diamond, tennis, basketball and volleyball courts.

Opening Hours: (Closed Mondays)

Museum:   10.00am – 5.00pm

Park:

Summer: Tuesday – Sunday          8.00am – 8.00pm

Winter:    Tuesday – Sunday         8.00am – 6.00pm

(Hours change when the clocks change)

Admission Price:   FREE

Further Information:

Christmas Post Office
23580 East Colonial Dr.
Christmas, Florida 32709-9998

Telephone: (800) 275-8777

Fort Christmas Historical Park

1300 Fort Christmas Road (C.R.420)
Christmas, Florida 32709

Telephone: 407-568-4149

During the holiday period at Epcot, from November 27th - December 30th. the Park is transformed into an International Celebration of Christmas traditions from throughtout the World. It is highlighted by the Candlelight Procession with the live entertainment and decorations a sight to not to be missed.

Candlelight processional is held on Selected Nights at The American Gardens Theatre, telling Christmas stories narrated by Celebrity Speakers, accompanied by a 50 piece orchestra and a Full Mass Choir. Whoopi Goldberg is one of the narrators this year. It is very popular, as you can imagine and fills up very quickly, so you need to get there early. You can pre book with a meal package which guarantees your seat at the show and the fireworks. (We didn’t and took our chance by getting there early). 

It is a great way to get into the Christmas spirit and to see and share the magic feelings with people from all over the world but most importantly, your own family. It is truely an amazing atmosphere which we will share again when our next visit takes in Christmas.

Add this to you “Must Do” list, not forgetting The Osborne Lights.

Have a great Christmas at Disney

Mary & Larry