Before I moved to the Florida Keys, I wondered what it would be like to celebrate the winter holidays away from the picturesque snow-packed hills of my childhood home in northwest Connecticut. I also asked myself which of my favorite holiday activities I might miss by moving to Key West, with its year-round subtropical island climate.
Visitors examine stacked lobster traps shaped like a Christmas tree at Key West’s Historic Seaport. (Photo by Rob O’Neal, Florida Keys News Bureau)
I knew without a doubt that I would miss my obsession with holiday decorating. (One of my parents’ first clues that they might have a gay son was probably my numerous “Martha Stewart-esque” decorating projects.)
My ornamenting activities involved hours of stringing Christmas lights and garlands, hanging wreaths — with the perfect accent lighting, of course — and pretty much everything that screamed Christmas throughout the family home (inside and out). I was never content until every string of lights, decoration and extension cord was utilized.
While spending my first winter in the Keys, I was pleasantly surprised at the vast number of holiday festivities that took place. And many of them involved my beloved holiday lights and decorations!
The Florida Keys have everything from lighted boat and bicycle parades to tours of decorated historic inns, plays, holiday concerts and so much more. I now have such a busy social calendar in the winter months that I’ve traded in my decorating hat to become what I call a “holiday voyeur.” (Besides, it’s so much more enjoyable to view decorations instead of having to dismantle them after the holidays.)
One of my favorite “holiday voyeur” activities is viewing the Schooner Wharf Bar lighted boat parade. The maritime merriment takes place Dec. 15 at 8 p.m., with the Key West Historic Seaport and harbor area serving as the parade route. Seafaring vessels ranging from dinghies to majestic tall ships are all decked out with fabulous holiday lights and elaborate decorations.
In an island-style display of holiday spirit, a 72-foot vessel is decked out as the “Schooner of Misfit Toys” for the Schooner Wharf Bar Lighted Boat Parade. (Photo by Rob O’Neal, Florida Keys News Bureau)
In true island style, you’re sure to see some palm trees versus the typical spruce or fir trees, and lots of aquatic creatures aboard the boats. Each boat has a unique design created with colorful lights strung from bow to stern. Scores of revelers attend the “illuminating” event, with excellent viewing opportunities available at the docks, restaurants, bars and resorts throughout the seaport.
For my readers who might like to see a snowflake or two (but not shovel them!), the Upper Keys island of Islamorada (pronounced EYE-la-mor-AH-da) offers merrymakers a 30-ton mountain of snow to frolic in on Dec. 1. Yes, you read it correctly — snow in the Florida Keys, as a highlight of the annual Florida Keys Holiday Festival at Founders Park (mile marker 87).
Then, as the mountain of snow continues to melt and the sun sets, an evening celebration commences with the ceremonial lighting of a 35-foot-tall tree and the chance to bid on Keys-designed, one-of-a-kind creations during the very popular ornament auction.
So why not take the chill out of your holiday season, trade in your winter apparel for beachwear and enjoy a sun-splashed vacation brimming with warm holiday cheer? Whether you’ve been naughty or nice, you can still treat yourself to the gift of a balmy tropical getaway in the Florida Keys.
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