The best Tampa Bay spots for Christmas trees, fake snow, meeting Santa and other holiday experiences

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.