The Ultimate Southwest Florida Christmas Guide

I hear a lot of recent Florida transplants say that they worry about how they will celebrate the Christmas season in warm weather and without snow, but let me tell you, it’s great and as beautiful as it is to have a white Christmas, Christmas in Florida is pretty awesome. There is no shortage of fun ways to celebrate all season long, especially in Southwest Florida.

I love looking for fun Christmas activities and events to do with the girls. We’ve taken advantage of several local events in recent years like the tree lighting event in Cape Coral and the Christmas lights display in Naples’ Victoria Park neighborhood. Every year I wonder how I’m going to pack everything in because there’s so much we want to do.

I rounded up a list of what’s going on this Christmas season in Southwest Florida:

Cape Christian Christmas Village

From December 7th- 31st, Cape Christian in Cape Coral will be hosting a very special Christmas Village. Activities include a holiday-themed hayride, Christmas crafts, full feature Christmas movie classics, meeting Santa (with photo ops) and even an ice-skating rink. We’ve attended plenty events at Cape Christian over the years and we’re so excited for this- they always go all out and their events are a family favorite.

Victoria Park Christmas Lights Display

We visited this neighborhood in Naples last year after hearing so many people rave about it on Facebook. It was everything! The whole neighborhood was lit up and visitors drove by taking in all the beautiful Christmas lights. This year we are looking forward to bringing some friends along with us drinking hot cocoa while we cruise through the lights.

Fort Myers Beach Christmas Boat Parade

For several years I’ve wanted to attend this event and for whatever reason, we don’t make it. This year will be the 33rd Annual Christmas Boat Parade in Fort Myers Beach and I’m hoping we can finally see what the popular holiday boat parades are all about.

Naples Christmas Boat Parade

Why go to just one Christmas boat parade when you can go to two? The Naples Christmas Boat Parade will be held on Saturday, December 11th starting at 6 pm. Check the link above for which restaurants have the best outdoor seating to watch the parade.

Holiday Festival of Lights

This holiday event is being held on Saturday, December 4th starting at 4 pm and includes Cape Coral’s tree lighting ceremony along with tons of vendors, food, bounce houses and musical performances. We attended back in 2018 and 2019 and will definitely be going back.

Naples Christmas Walk and Tree Lighting Ceremony

On December 3rd and 4th the city of Naples will be hosting their 48th Annual Christmas Walk and Tree Lighting Ceremony Christmas which will also include live performances, dining and a live nativity.

Fisherman’s Village in Punta Gorda

We visited this charming Christmas village back in 2018 and had so many great photo ops- the girls even got to take pics with Santa.

Holiday Magic Village, Bell Tower Shops Fort Myers

On select dates, families will have the opportunity to join the Holiday Magic Village in Fort Myers’ Bell Tower Shops and take photos with Santa and the Grinch. Check out their other locations, too.

Edison Ford and Winter Estates

From November 26 through January 2 Edison Ford and Winter Estates will showcase their beautiful holiday lighting displays, including visits with Santa, Christmas carolers and other musical performances. We enjoyed seeing all the lights here two years ago.

christmas tree lighting & holiday cirque experience

Mercato in Naples will be hosting this tree lighting boasting the largest real Christmas tree in Southwest Florida with dance and cirque performers as well as a performance by the Southwest Florida Symphony.

German Christmas Market

In 2019, the girls and I visited the German Christmas Market or Christkindlmarkt. I was excited to eat some authentic German potato salad and the girls were excited for all the sweets. On December 4th and 5th you can check out the Cape Coral German Christmas Market too.

naples winter carnival

The Naples Winter Carnival is a 3-day event being held from Friday, December 3rd- Sunday, December 5th and will include rides and fun carnival treats.

Fort Myers Holiday Express at Lakes Park

A fun way to enjoy the holiday season is with a train ride through the Lakes Park Train Village. Holiday decorations and lights will decorate the village as you travel around the park! Holiday train hours start December 10th-December 30th and vary- check out their Facebook page for exact hours.