Your Family Guide
to Florida & Beyond
since 2016

Through the holidays, gnomes hide all over the Showroom on Level 2 of IKEA Miami, and kids can hunt for them at their own pace. The self-guided scavenger hunt is free, needs no registration and runs from November 1 to December 31, an easy add-on to a holiday shopping trip or a meal at the Swedish Restaurant.

SeaWorld Orlando's holiday event fills the park with millions of lights, the Sea of Trees show on the lagoon with its 70-foot Christmas centerpiece, the Winter Wonderland on Ice skating show, the Sesame Street Christmas Parade, Rudolph's Christmas Town and visits with Santa. It runs on select days — weekends in November and early December, Thanksgiving week and every day from Dec. 11 — and each night ends with the Holiday Reflections fireworks at park close (through Dec. 31). Everything is included with park admission except extras like public ice skating; hours change by day, so check the park calendar.

Christmas Wonderland at Tropical Park runs from Nov. 12 to Jan. 3, opening at 5 p.m. Monday to Saturday and 4 p.m. on Sundays, with tickets at $39.99, or $29.99 for kids 12 and under. It's Miami's big holiday park, at the old home of Santa's Enchanted Forest, and this year its Santa's Enchanted Forest: Memory Lane brings back some of the original displays and photo spots. A ticket covers unlimited carnival rides, the 230-foot America 250 Wheel, live shows, holiday lights and hundreds of photo ops; games, food, merchandise and photos with Santa cost extra, and kids 12 and under can hunt for 24 hidden ducks for free. It's closed on Mondays Nov. 16, Nov. 30 and Dec. 7; other nights it closes at 11 p.m. Monday–Thursday, at midnight on Fridays and Saturdays and at 10 p.m. on Sundays, and it opens at 4 p.m. on more days around Thanksgiving and the holidays. Online weekday deals cut the price, with $25 tickets on Mondays, and parking and the trolley from the lot are free. More holiday plans: our Holiday Activity Guide gathers the season's lights, shows and Santa visits, and our Winter Camp Guide has camps for the school break.