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Celebrating Christmas in Florida can be interesting without the real change of seasons. Instead of snowy days and bundling up, we’ll likely still be in t-shirts and sandals. Ever since moving here, I’ve been on the search for Christmas-y things to do so it still feels like the holiday season. And that led me to finding the Delray Beach Christmas tree.
About the 100-foot Christmas Tree
The Delray Beach Christmas tree stands at 100-feet tall and is the tallest Christmas tree in Florida. It’s located at the Old School Square Park in Delray Beach and is on display throughout December. The tradition started in 1993 and this year is its 30th year being displayed!
The Delray Beach Christmas tree is not a ‘real’ tree, but a structure of a tree that’s been decorated. The current structure has 24,000 pounds of framework and 15,570 pounds of foliage. As for the decorations, it’s adorned with 18,000 ornaments and 217,980 LED Christmas lights!
2023 Schedule:
- Tree Lighting: Nov 28th from 6-9pm with holiday vendors on Atlantic Ave.
- Holiday Village: Nov 28th-Dec 22nd (M-F 5-9pm, Sa-Su 1-9pm), Dec 23rd 1-9pm, Dec 24-25th 5-9pm (Tree + Carousal), Dec 26-31st 1-9pm
- Santa’s House: Nov 28th + every Fri-Su in December in the evenings
See the full schedule + costs here
Where to Go
To get to Delray Beach from West Palm Beach, it’s about a 25-minute drive south. It’s about a 10-minute drive from Boca Raton and a 30-minute drive from Fort Lauderdale.
Tree Location – 51 N Swinton Ave, Delray Beach, FL 33444
Parking – You might be able to find street parking around the area, but the easiest place to park is the parking garage right off of the Old School Square. The exact address for the parking garage is 180 NE 1st Street and there will be a fee to park there.
Things to Do
See the Tree Lights at Night
The tree lighting ceremony for 2023 is on November 28th from 6-9pm and will have about 60 vendors down Atlantic Avenue to shop from plus food and live music. If you can’t make it, you can go on any other night through December to see the tree lit up.
Go Inside the Tree
Because of how big it is, you can actually go inside! Now, before we went, I had read online about there being several store fronts/displays inside that you could see and walk through. Somehow in my mind, I pictured something completely different and assumed it would be much more than it is.
Not that the inside isn’t cool, but it’s a very brief walk in and walk out with four display windows that you can look at. And it’s’ free to go inside. It’s fun to see the tree structure and you can see all the way to the top of it.
Activities for Kids
There are several activities for kids around the tree that you’ll need a ticket for. You can get tickets at the Gingerbread house and the activities cost between $5-10. Or you can purchase an all-day pass for $20.
Ice Skating Rink
There’s a mini ice skating rink for kids right next to the tree with skating trainers for beginners. Ice skating is available daily from 5-9pm and is closed on Christmas Eve and Christmas. You can purchase tickets for $5.
Mini Golf
There’s also a mini golf set up as well that’s available with a $5 ticket.
Meet Santa
On certain days, kids have the opportunity to meet Santa at Santa’s House (surfing Santa photo-op out front complete with sand). It’s a $10 ticket to meet Santa and get a photo with him that you’ll be able to take home.
Santa’s house is open on November 28th, and every Friday-Sunday evening in December up until Christmas (not available on Christmas Eve of course). Usually till 8:30pm but times may very so make sure to check the schedule.
Carousel
The carousel is $5 per ride and is available from November 28th – December 26th. If you happen to go on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, rides are free!
Other Things to Do for Christmas
- Sandi Land – A 35-foot sand tree + surrounding sand sculptures in West Palm Beach
- Holiday Boat Parade – parade of boats lit up with Christmas lights starting in North Palm Beach and ending in Jupiter
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