Over the next few weeks, the two big goals for parents is to get kids some face time with the Big Man, and find a suitable pine tree. So,  what follows are a few local spots where you can either cut down your own Christmas tree (or, if you prefer to avoid sharp tools, find one in a lot), as well as meet Santa,  or even bask in a fake snow storm, all within the Tampa Bay area.

Santa’s Christmas Tree Forest 35317 Huff Rd., Eustis Through Dec. 19 Santa’s Christmas Tree Forest is exactly what it sounds like, a forest full of trees ready to be chopped down. Started back in 1989, Santa’s Christmas Tree Forest is big on family tradition and trying to bring families together during the holiday season. The trees available to cut (they provide the saw) are Florida-style trees like a Sand Pine. If you want a more traditional style tree, there’s Northern trees ready to take home from the lot. It also offers wreaths, tree care information, and live potted trees. Credit: Santa’s Christmas Tree Forest/FB
Winter Wonderland Clearwater 200 N Fort Harrison Ave. Clearwater Dec. 5-23 Since 1993, Clearwater community volunteers have put together a Winter Wonderland with live entertainment, Santa and Mrs. Claus, a hot chocolate shop and Holiday Express Train. Admission is free except for some rides and refreshments. Credit: Winter Wonderland Clearwater/FB
Enchant Christmas Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg Most nights through Jan. 2 One of the world’s largest Christmas mazes is back in St. Pete, bringing a whole lot with it, including pictures with Santa. Enchanting features include a variety of activities for the family to enjoy, from the light maze to the Christmas market. Vendors, sweets and an ice skating trail top it all off. Tickets start at $25. Credit: Enchant Christmas/FB
Tampa Bay Farmers Market 10001 N Armenia Ave., Tampa All Christmas season Although the Tampa Bay Farmers Market usually offers fresh veggies and fruits, they also have a selection of Christmas trees. Open now till the end of the holiday season, this farmers market features green table tops, floral grade poinsettias, Christmas decor, garlands and much more. Credit: Tampa Bay Farmers Market/FB
Santa and Snow Fest at North Straub Park in St. Pete 400 Bayshore Dr. NE, St. Petersburg Weekends in December North Straub Park’s annual Christmas event allows guests to chill with Santa at the park. On Saturday, Dec. 18, the St. Pete park also hosts a Snow Fest where adults and children can slide down a snow hill ($5 for a wristband), with arts and crafts tents, food trucks and more. Credit: Photo via City of St. Pete/FB
Winter Village at Curtis Hixon Park 600 N Ashley Dr, Tampa Every night through Jan. 2 Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park in downtown Tampa transforms into a winter wonderland with ice skating, winter-themed shops, and a holiday-themed cafe. In addition to skating, there’s a ton of festive events like free movies presented by Tampa Theatre, a children’s choo choo, and the Winter Village Express trolley ride that includes free milk and cookies. Credit: City of Tampa/FB
Ergle Christmas Tree Farm 3325 Treiman Blvd., Dade City All Christmas season Open from 9 a.m. – 7 p.m. every day, Ergle Christmas Tree Farm is a locally-owned business that believes in family traditions. With over 200,000 fresh trees, Ergle Tree Farm lets guests chop down their own tree for the holiday season, while charging $6/foot up to 9 feet and $7/foot for trees above 9 feet. Boiled peanuts, kettle corn, and hot dogs are also available for purchase. Credit: Ergle Christmas Tree Farm/FB
Gallagher’s Christmas Trees 7401 4th St. N, St. Petersburg All Christmas season Locally-owned and family-operated since 1989, Gallagher’s Pumpkins & Christmas Trees is a popular Thanksgiving and Christmas hub for holiday essentials. This year Gallagher’s offers a variety of holiday decor, ranging from trees, pumpkins, wreathes, as well as activities such as photo opps, kids games and snow cones. Plus, you can bring your pup. Credit: Gallagher’s Christmas Trees/FB
Dave’s Christmas Tree Lot 6438 106 E Lumsden Rd, Brandon All Christmas season If you’re looking to grab an authentic Christmas tree then Dave’s is a good place to start. It offers a variety of trees such as grand fir, Oregon-grown noble fir, fraser fir, douglas firs, black spruce, blue spruce and scotch pines, all cut from the North Carolina mountains. Alongside the trees, Dave’s Christmas Tree Lot also offers flocking flair (a snow effect), wreaths, garlands and year-round firewood. If you can’t manage a trip to Brandon, Dave’s also offers delivery and removal services. Credit: Dave’s Christmas Tree Lot/Website
The Wonderland of Lights and Santa’s Village 1052 U.S. Hwy-92, Auburndale Every night through Jan. 2 This holiday event includes two major attractions: The Wonderland of Lights and Santa’s Village both come with general admission, which starts at $25 per vehicle, just keep in mind that the vehicle must not surpass the legal seating limit. Though the light show is open every night, Santa’s Village is closed Monday-Wednesday, Dec. 6-8 and Dec. 13-15. There’s also a circus-style show, games, crafts, food, and much more. Credit: Wonderland of Lights/FB
Christmas in the Wild @ Zoo Tampa 1101 W Sligh Ave. Tampa Select nights through Dec. 30 Zoo Tampa Christmas in the Wild returns with six new illuminated zones of lights. This winter wonderland also features animal attractions such as mingling with furry creatures and tasting delectable treats. And Santa, of course. It begins at 4 p.m. every night and general admission tickets starting at $29.95, plus $5 for reservations. Credit: ZooTampa/FB
Great Lakes Christmas Tree Farms 1701 E 2nd Ave., Ybor City All Christmas season Serving the Tampa Bay area for over 30 years, now at a new Historic Ybor City location, Great Lakes Christmas Tree Farms provides hundreds of varying trees such as blue spruce, douglas fir, and black hill spruce. Great Lakes also offers wreaths, decorated mini christmas trees or holly plants, and poinsettias. Online ordering and delivery is available. Credit: Great Lakes Christmas Tree Farm/FB
Holidays at Legoland 1 Legoland Way, Winter Haven Dec 4-5, 11-12, 18-19, 24-31 Included with general admission (starting at $84.99), Holidays at Legoland involves a multitude of shows, activities and, of course, Lego. (FYI, the plural of Lego is Lego.) One of the event’s largest attractions is its 30-ft Lego Christmas tree equipped with lights and ornaments. The event also features building stations, special character visits, as well as interactive shows for the family. Credit: Legoland
Blue Acres Christmas Tree Farm 20638 Moreland Dr., Spring Hill All Christmas season If you’re in the mood for a road trip and some Christmas decor, then Blue Acres Christmas Tree Farm could be the way to go. This family owned tree lot ,where you can cut a tree yourself or have someone do it for you, specializes in Florida native Carolina sapphires and southern red cedars plus, handmade wreaths, potted trees and local raw honey. The Christmas trees start at $55 and work their way up from there. Credit: Blue Acres
Christmas Lane at Florida Strawberry Festival 2508 W Oak Ave. Plant City Dec. 2-5, 9-12, 16-24 Over 1.5 millions lights, 200 Christmas trees, elves, Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus and a bunch of snow, Christmas Lane at Florida Strawberry Festival is a solid way to enjoy the holidays. There’s also live entertainment, face painting, tons of rides and most importantly, free parking. Admission starts at only $5 for kids and $8 for adults. Credit: Christmas Lane at Florida Strawberry Festival/FB
Northstar Wisconsin Christmas Trees 2905 Gulf To Bay Blvd. Clearwater, FL All Christmas season Along with fresh-cut trees up to 15 feet tall, tabletop trees, fresh handmade wreaths, swag, garlands and Christmas tree stands, Northstar Wisconsin Christmas Trees also offers tree delivery and setup. Northstar—open seven days a week—suggests not waiting to get your tree, there is a shortage this year. Also, no holds, because, well, 2021. Credit: Northstar Wisconsin Christmas Trees/FB
Busch Gardens Christmas Town 10165 N McKinley Dr. Tampa Daily through Jan. 2 Bring the kids as Busch Gardens features Christmas Town with a sing-along train, millions of lights, and visits from the classic Christmas characters, Santa and Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer. You do have to pay for a park ticket to get in though (a Fun Card costs $84.99 and gets you in through 2022) plus any money you want to spend for food and drinks. Credit: Busch Gardens/FB
Santa visits the Florida Aquarium 701 Channelside Dr. Tampa Saturday and Sunday through Dec. 19 Santa at Florida Aquarium is socially-distanced this year; he’ll be planted inside of a snowglobe so kids can safely visit with Ol’ St. Nick. Chatting with Santa is included in the price of admission, so you get to check out some sharks while you’re there, too. Credit: Florida Aquarium/FB
Santa’s Flight Academy International Plaza 2223 N Westshore Blvd., Tampa Daily through Dec. 24 Santa’s Flight Academy at International Plaza includes photo ops with Santa, virtual flight gear, cadet badges, and much more. If you want to save the memories and get printouts of the photos, it’ll cost you, starting at $39.99. Reservations are highly recommended. Credit: International Plaza/Vimeo
Kandy Kane Christmas Tree Land 10001 NE 27th Terr., Anthony All Christmas season Cutting down the tree is only the first part of the mission, what about the rest? Kandy Kane Christmas Treeland has that covered, it provides not only the trees but the saws, hole drilling for tree stands, shaking to remove all dead needles, as well as tree wraps for the journey back home. Treeland also offers a variety of holiday decor, ranging from wreaths to poinsettias and much more. Credit: Kandy Kane Christmas Tree Land/FB
Mike’s Christmas Trees 11349 Bloomingdale Ave., Riverview All Christmas season Mike’s Christmas Trees are directly from the hills of Michigan. Along with the trees, Mike’s also provides free candy canes and coloring books for the kids and they also shake, bale and load every tree they sell. Mike’s offers wreaths, centerpieces and decor all for reasonable prices. Credit: Mike’s Christmas Trees/website
Snow @ Sundial 153 2nd Ave N, St. Petersburg Through Dec. 31 Fake snow falls every 30 minutes from 6 p.m.-9:30 p.m. at the downtown St. Pete mall (or shopping plaza, whatever you want to call it), plus a photo opportunity with Santa, holiday performances, and thousands of twinkling lights. Plus, it’s free to the public. Credit: Sundial/FB
Winter Beach @ St. Pete Pier Through Jan. 17 Celebrate the holidays at the inaugural Winter Beach at St. Pete Pier. There’s a holiday market, snow days, an arcade, movie nights, and ice skating (at $17 per person) on real ice. Check out themed nights like ’90s, Santa hat skate, and Pride night. And, of course, Santa will be there. Credit: City of St. Pete
Raprager Family Farm and Christmas Extravaganza 16907 Boy Scout Rd, Odessa December 10-12, 17-28 Pictures with Santa isn’t the only photo op at Odessa’s Raprager Family Farm; his workshop, gingerbread village, hayrides, and tons of other festive activities are there, too. Entrance costs $12.50 plus extra for pony rides or face painting. Credit: Adobe
Lazy Acres Christmas Tree Farm 14920 Swift Rd., Dade City Through Dec. 31 Lazy Acres Christmas Tree Farm is another family owned and operated business that’s provided Christmas trees and other holiday decor for over 30 years. Lazy Acres lets guests come and take down their own trees and gives them the chance to mingle with farm animals, take pictures and eat boiled peanuts. Lazy Acres also offers wreaths, tree stands and firewood. Credit: Adobe
North Pole Express at Florida Railroad Museum 12210 83rd St. E, Parrish Dec. 8-12, 15-20 You better act fast if you want to enjoy the North Pole Express at Florida Railroad Museum; the event sells out every year. It’s an hour (round trip) train to the North Pole where Santa will visit with kids. There’s entertainment campfires and “all the hot chocolate and cookies you care to eat.” Tickets start at $21 or you can rent out the caboose for $589 for 16 people. Credit: Florida Railroad Museum/FB

Freelance contributor Stephanie Powers started her media career as an Editorial Assistant long ago when the Tampa Bay Times was still called the St. Petersburg Times. After stints in Chicago and Los Angeles,...