Here we are in December again. This is the most wonderful time of the year! I love this season, Christmas is my favorite. I love the decorations, the cheer, the love, the remembrance of Jesus’s birth. I love the little family traditions that we still hold so dear. Watching “It’s a Wonderful Life”, picking out a real Christmas tree, and travel. I love to travel, (as most of my readers know!). I really enjoy traveling to other cities and experiencing how they celebrate the Christmas season. Just recently I had the privilege of visiting the tiny but upscale town of Winter Park. Located just outside of Orlando beside the ritzy picturesque college of “Rollins College”. A cute fact about Winter Park is that it is accessible by train (SunRail/Amtrak). We took the train from a nearby central Florida town where we were visiting friends. The SunRail was cheap and clean, which are the best two combos for public transportation!
Winter Park is adorable complete with a huge grassy park in the center of downtown quaintly named “Central Park”. It has over 70 well manicured parks around the area. But downtown is the best! The main street is “Park Avenue”. (Recognize a trend here?). Up and down this Park Avenue comes alive for the holidays. This little city does not skimp on lights and décor around Christmas! Just like the New York boutique window displays, Winter Park store fronts decor bring some competition! Many of the stores create beautiful Christmas themed displays in their front windows. A special little treat is the indoor ice skating rink tent put on by the local Parks & Rec department. (So cute, such a Leslie Knope idea!). The rink is located off of New York Ave. It’s free to get in, concessions are available, and Ice skate rentals are $12. You will forget you are in central Florida for at least a moment when you are scraping the fresh ice, wind blowing in your hair, and Brenda Lee is singing “Rockin Around the Christmas Tree” in the background!” If you are looking for a cute christmas getaway that will put you in the holiday mood Winter Park is perfect! Happy travels families!
We absolutely love Winter Park! It is a great place year-round, but especially at Christmas. The Winter Park community does an excellent job of creating family-friendly experiences this time of year. Nice post!