Best Jacksonville Holiday Activities: Discover Our 6 Favorite Choices!

Surround yourself with the sights, sounds, and scents of the holiday season in Jacksonville, Florida. Our guide to the best holiday activities, attractions, and events in the area will give you plenty of things to do with friends and family at this time of year.

Candy Cane Class at Sweet Pete’s Candy

If you’re looking for an activity to set sugar plums dancing in your head this holiday season, Sweet Pete’s Candy has what you seek. Sweet Pete’s Candy staff will teach you how to shape candy canes. All participants will make five to nine candy canes during the class and receive an ice cream treat.

Reserve private candy cane classes for groups of six or more people on the Sweet Pete’s website. Admission is $15 per person, and adults must accompany children younger than 13. Classes are available for reservation on Dec. 11, 13, 15, 20, 21, 24, and 28.

Sweet Pete’s describes itself as the largest candy store in the U.S. Southeast. Calling home to a 22,000-square-foot mansion in downtown Jacksonville, Sweet Pete’s produces exquisite handcrafted chocolates and candies and invites participants to be part of the candy-making experience. The in-house restaurant Fizzies & Fare serves light food and drink, including ice cream sundaes, over-the-top crazy milkshakes, and boozy beverages for adults.

Location: 400 N. Hogan St.

Telephone: 904-376-7161

Dazzling Lights at the Jacksonville Arboretum & Botanical Gardens

Immerse yourself in a holiday wonderland of illumination during Dazzling Lights at the Jacksonville Arboretum & Botanical Gardens. This family-friendly adventure, which runs from Nov. 19 to Jan. 9, 2022, allows guests to embark on a three-quarter-mile interactive holiday experience.

More than a million dazzling lights complement magical displays and beautiful sculptures for an unforgettable evening of enchantment. Highlights of Dazzling Lights include a spectacular 65-foot-long tunnel of illumination, a 30-foot-tall Christmas tree, and a forest of light and fog. Get your cameras ready to capture these spectacles of light.

Admission is by timed tickets. The first entry begins at 5:30 p.m., and the last entry is at 9 p.m. Tickets are $22 per person on the weekdays and $25 per person on the weekends. Limited on-site parking is available through advanced reservation for a fee. Complimentary off-site parking and a shuttle are available for guests at The Regency Square Mall and Arlington Expressway. The Dazzling Nights exhibition opens rain or shine except in the event of severe weather.

Location: 1445 Millcoe Road

Telephone: 904-318-4342

Deck the Chairs at Jacksonville Beach

Discover a holiday attraction unique to the Jacksonville Beach community. Deck the Chairs is an illuminated public art wonderland of 40 decorated lifeguard chairs, nightly light shows, weekend stage programs, and art installations that all family members can enjoy. More than 600 volunteers build, design, decorate, and light this attraction. An estimated 90,000 people attend this free event over six weeks during the holiday season.

Experience the SeaSongs Light & Music Spectacle. This one-of-a-kind motion-activated holiday sound experience features a 140-foot custom-created display that plays musical chords when visitors interact with elements of the exhibit. 

Suitable for little ones, the Kids’ Creative Space offers an interactive play area that families and kids can enjoy together. Music and dance performances from local children’s performing arts groups, a visit from Santa, concessions, and the Musical Tree Light Show round out the event offerings.

Deck the Chairs opens the 2021 holiday season on Nov. 24 and stays open until New Year’s Day. The lights turn on each night during this time from 5 p.m. until 1 a.m. 

Location: Latham Plaza and Sea Walk Pavilion, Jacksonville Beach

Contact: Kurtis Loftus, 904-716-3853

Luminaria in the Riverside and Avondale Neighborhoods

Experience one of the premier holiday events for the Riverside and Avondale neighborhoods of Jacksonville. This year’s Luminaria event, held Sunday, Dec. 12, will mark the 37th year for this annual celebration. Witness porches, sidewalks, and streets of the neighborhood come aglow from the light of hundreds of luminaria bags. This event fosters community pride and invites members of the public to discover the charm of these historic neighborhoods.

Live bands, hot chocolate, and festive caroling reiterate the holiday feeling. Families will have a chance to meet with Santa Claus before sunset at Memorial Park.

Location: Riverside and Avondale neighborhoods, located off Interstate 95 west of downtown Jacksonville

New Year’s Eve Fireworks Show

Ring in the new year in downtown Jacksonville. Fireworks will launch from a barge on the St. Johns River between the Hyatt and DoubleTree hotels and high above the St. Johns River from the Acosta Bridge. Guests can view these locations from the north and south banks of the river in downtown Jacksonville and under the Fuller Warren Bridge. The fireworks show begins at midnight, so get your party hats and horns ready!

Location: Downtown Jacksonville

Trans-Siberian Orchestra – ‘Christmas Eve and Other Stories’ at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena

Rock your holiday with the internationally acclaimed Trans-Siberian Orchestra – “Christmas Eve and Other Stories.” Scheduled to appear Dec. 16 at 7:30 p.m. at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena, the Trans-Siberian Orchestra marks the 25th anniversary of its “Christmas Eve and Other Stories” performances this year. After a one-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the Trans-Siberian Orchestra is back and ready to delight its audiences through this legendary holiday music spectacular.

Electric guitar solos, synthesized keyboards, lively drumming, and more combine to create one up-tempo holiday performance that you won’t soon forget. Tickets start at $36.68 and are available for purchase through Ticketmaster.

Location: 300 A. Philip Randolph Blvd.

Telephone: 904-630-3900

Make this upcoming holiday a festive season of celebration filled with wonder and good cheer. These Jacksonville holiday activities will fill you, your friends, and your family members with the spirit of the season. How did you like our list of holiday events? Did we overlook one that you think we should include? Write to us and tell us about it. Our team members at Keith Pierson Toyota take pleasure in sharing the attractions and charms of Jacksonville with residents and visitors to our community. Happy holidays!

Tags: christmas activities, holiday activities
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