Holiday travel in Ft. Lauderdale

Fort Lauderdale Beach off of Las Olas Boulevard

By John George

I’ve always had relatives in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and my family lived there in the early aughts. We are returning for a week around Christmas, and will definitely utilize the following tips to help make our trip go smoothly.

Find Appropriate Accommodations

We’re lucky enough to be staying with relatives this trip, but have spent enough time visiting to know some of the better hotel options that suit our needs. Our current favorites in town are the Marriott Harbor Beach and the Riverside Hotel—we used to love staying at Ireland’s Inn Beach Resort, but it closed two years ago for renovations and no new information is currently available. We have also used the Embassy Suites on the 17^th Street Causeway; although this hotel is about two miles from the beach, the suite layout is very family friendly.

Pack for the Weather

December weather in southern Florida is definitely unpredictable. We’ve enjoyed marvelous beach time and also some chilly days in late December—and even early January (we, of course, console ourselves by remembering the weather back home up north. If you are planning on visiting before about mid-January, be sure to monitor weather conditions before packing for your trip. One year, we had some of our cousin’s visit for New Year and during their stay, the weather turned cool—shorts and tank tops gave way to jackets and sweaters. Good thing we were there to lend some clothes!

View from one of the many hotels on Las Olas Boulevard

Have Gifts. Will Travel?

Now, the question on the mind of every kid traveling at Christmas time is, “How will Santa find me? I’m going to be hundreds of miles away from home!” Actually, our son, Zeke, is past that age, but we’re still left with the matter of getting gifts to our vacation spot. As everyone knows, with scant few exceptions airlines now charge fees to check luggage, and there are pretty strictrules about bringing already-wrapped presents along in carry-on baggage. After considerable discussion, we determined that we’d each carry a single gift and that we’d use the free or reduced-rate shipping from many online retailers to ship anything more bulky than a book or CD. We’ll see how this works out.

When you Want to Pray

If you want to attend Christmas Mass during your vacation, you can likely find a local church. Most denominations have online listings of their churches and service times. We’ll be attending Mass at St. Anthony, our old parish in downtown in Fort Lauderdale.

Christmas Festivities

Fort Lauderdale fancies itself as the Venice of America. There’s a fun (and free) Holiday Boat Parade a couple of weeks before Christmas, part of Fort Lauderdale’s Winterfest activities. Hundreds of boat owners decorate their boats with lavish holiday décor and lighting. You can view the parade from many vantage points along the Intracostal—why not bring a picnic dinner and make an evening of it? In addition to the parade, there are other family activities, including a tree lighting at the Riverside Hotel

Another holiday event that we’ve enjoyed inthe past is the Fantasy of Lights in Coconut Creek, a short drive north of Fort Lauderdale. Thousands of lights are strung up in Tradewinds Park, which is also home to an interesting butterfly zoo. There’s a small drive-in charge, and the loop takes 20 to30 minutes.

Speaking of lights, a closer option, which also happens to be free, is to drive or stroll up the Las Olas shopping strip. While this is definitely a different experience than Fifth Avenue in New York or Chicago’s Michigan Avenue, the holiday decorations are pretty and unique—how often do you see Christmas lights on palm trees?

A Florida vacation in December gives families from the North the chance to experience the holidays in a different fashion. No doubt there will be some cognitive dissonance—hearing “Frosty the Snowman” while driving with the convertible top down, for example. Remember that in one of the all-time favorite Christmas movies, White Christmas, the plot started out in Florida!

Related Resources:

John George is a full-time working dad to his 11-year-old son. After visiting every continent, save Antarctica, he was domesticated by his wife Jenny. Their family enjoys cruising, beach vacations and getaways to the Big Apple.

Tagged: Family time, Florida