Celebrate A White Beach Christmas In Daytona Beach

Who's dreaming of white Christmas this year, well drive on over to Daytona Beach and you could be enjoying a beautiful white beach Christmas!

The Daytona Beach area offers 23 miles of white sand beaches along one of the most iconic and beautiful stretches of Atlantic shoreline in Florida.

And, this holiday season Daytona Beach is brimming with Christmas Celebrations, spectacular displays of twinkle lights, a celebration that takes a step back in time, or a jolly holiday parade, there is so much festive fun Christmas activities await in Daytona Beach!

Check out these Daytona Beach events to put you in the holiday spirit.

Magic of Lights Holiday Display

The iconic Daytona International Speedway transforms into a holiday heaven during the Magic of Lights Holiday Display.

Take the family and drive through the 1.5-mile display, which features over a million of the latest in LED bulbs and all-new digital animation technologies that have been specially created for the “World Center of Racing.”

New this year will feature the premiere of the Barbie holiday light display as well as Big Foot Monster Trucks and Prehistoric Christmas.

For more information on ticket pricing for this drive-thru experience, visit the website.

The event takes place daily from November 18 through January 1 from 6 to 10 p.m. (on Thanksgiving weekend 11/24-27, 7-10 p.m., and 12/3, 7-10 p.m.).

Stetson Mansion Christmas Spectacular Holiday Home Tour

The Stetson Mansion Christmas Spectacular Holiday Home Tour takes place at “Florida’s first luxury estate,” the famed Victorian Gilded Age residence built in 1886.

Its original, rich architectural details make the perfect backdrop for elaborate holiday decorations, which are different each year. Designer decorations from around the world will adorn the mansion and each of the ten rooms.

Come and experience how Stetson Mansion has decked the halls on one of these enchanting self-guided tours, offered four to six times per day Nov. 1 through January 21.

Daytona Beach Boat Parade

Holiday cheer gets a nautical twist at the Daytona Beach Boat Parade, a favorite local tradition that’s back for another year on Saturday, December 3, at 6 p.m.

Boats will be extravagantly decked out with twinkling lights and holiday décor to cruise the Halifax River, and you can experience the magic free of charge. Viewers post up watch along bridges, causeways, and river shorelines, and it all culminates at Halifax River Yacht Club in downtown Daytona Beach.

Gingerbread Fantasy Holiday Light Display

This holiday season, Rose Villa Southern Table & Bar will transform into a Gingerbread Fantasy decorative light display that evokes classic storybook memories in exquisite style.

From November 18, 2022, through January 5, 2023, visitors can stop to take a family photo or a fun selfie outside of in this historic setting in downtown Ormond Beach. During Gingerbread Fantasy, the restaurant will be decorated with larger-than-life Gingerbread men, towering lollipops, unique topiary snowmen, the “dogs of Rose Villa,” stain glass windows reflecting gingerbread men, gold bells, candy canes and candied fruit, and of course hundreds of colorful lights reaching from the ground to the top of the two and a half story rooftop.

For an extra special holiday activity, Rose Villa will offer a hands-on experience building your own gingerbread house.

This confection-based activity is offered daily from 10 a.m. – noon. Cost starts at $99 and reservations are required.

Holiday Story Stroll in Rockefeller Gardens

Visit the giant pages of a classic holiday book set up around the Christmas tree in beautiful Rockefeller Gardens at The Casements in Ormond Beach.

A collaboration of the City of Ormond Beach, Volusia County Public Library, and Ormond Beach MainStreet, the Holiday Story Stroll will be open from Dec. 2-21, 2022.

More information about this free, family-friendly event is available by calling Ormond Main Street at 386-492-2938 or The Casements at 386-676-3216.

Christmas at Peabody Auditorium

The Peabody Auditorium will host a trio of holiday shows beginning with country music star Martina McBride, who will be performing her “Joy of Christmas” tour on Nov. 27 at 8 p.m.

On Dec. 3-4, enjoy Volusia Civic Ballet’s “The Nutcracker,” which in addition to the full-length production, will also offer a condensed narrated Family Series show. Million Dollar Quartet will wrap up the holiday shows on Dec. 5.

This brand-new musical is inspired by the true story of the momentous homecoming in December 1956 of rock ‘n’ roll newcomers, and soon to be legends, as they reflect on Christmases past and contemplate Christmases present and yet-to-come at a moment when no one knew if rock ‘n’ roll was a fad or a revolution.

Daytona Turkey Run

The Daytona Turkey Run features thousands of unique automobiles and swap meet vendors in the infield of the “World Center of Racing,” Daytona International Speedway.

Considered to be largest combined car show and swap meet in the United States, this family-friendly four-day event takes place every fall during the Thanksgiving holiday week.

New Year’s Eve on Main Street

Bring in the New Year on historic Main Street in Daytona Beach. Carolers, pictures with Santa Claus, holiday pet parade, The 16th annual New Year’s Eve on Main Street celebration will have six blocks of fun featuring five stages of music, festival food and food trucks, plenty of drink specials, and amazing stilt walkers.

Bring in the New Year with a ball drop and fireworks at midnight. Family-friendly and free to the public.

Riverfront Esplanade: December to Remember

It’s a December to Remember at the new Riverfront Esplanade, a gathering space and botanical garden located in the heart of Daytona Beach.

Composed of more than a mile of waterfront running trails with comfortable benches and swings overlooking the Halifax River, the Riverfront Esplanade will be a hub for holiday activities such as pictures with Santa, Carolers, Hawliday Pet Parade, and Miracle on 34th Street: The Musical.

There will also be Movies on the Lawn with “Elf” and “Nightmare Before Christmas” and guitarist and vocalist Jonathan Butler’s Oh Holy Night Christmas concert at The News-Journal Center. Visit the website for a complete schedule.

Holiday Parades

Celebrate the holidays with family and friends by attending Christmas parades within the different municipalities in the Daytona Beach Area. Festive floats, local marching bands, walking performers, and Santa and Mrs. Claus will deliver the holiday cheer.

Dec. 3, Daytona Beach Shores Christmas Parade & Tree Lighting

Dec. 3, Ponce Inlet Christmas Parade

Dec. 10, 31st Annual Home for the Holidays Parade, City of Ormond Beach

Dec. 4, Port Orange Holiday Parade: Jurassic Christmas (Dunlawton Avenue)