Daytona does Christmas its own way — lights inside a superspeedway, a tree forest in Rockefeller's house, and a luau with Santa. Eight films cover the season; prices and dates are as filmed and flagged, because holiday pricing moves yearly.

Winter Wonderland at One Daytona Holiday Kick Off (It's Time.!!)

AVT Explores

AVT Explores wander ONE DAYTONA's Winter Wonderland holiday kick-off (2024): market stalls selling cookies (five for $3 at the Cupcake Metropolis booth, as filmed) and shower steamers, build-your-own plush and spicy chicken bites, families gathering ahead of the 4:30 parade. A ground-level feel for how the district's Victory Circle lawn turns into a Christmas market for its holiday opener.

Key takeaways
  • The holiday kick-off fills the district with vendor stalls and a late-afternoon parade (4:30 as filmed)
  • Local bakers and makers sell alongside the district's shops and restaurants

Tour the Ormond Beach Casements Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree Forest

Melly Hatchet

A long, unhurried walk through The Casements at Christmas, when community groups decorate themed trees room by room — the creator even finds an ornament she made at a Casements workshop years earlier incorporated into a stable-themed horse tree. Between the trees, the film reads the house's history plaque: saved from demolition, purchased by the City of Ormond Beach in 1974, restored with a federal grant and reopened in 1979 as a community enrichment center, with Rockefeller designated a Great Floridian.

Key takeaways
  • Filmed during the Christmas Tree Forest holiday display
  • Community-made ornaments from past workshops decorate the trees
  • City bought the property in 1974; reopened 1979 as a cultural center

Stetson Mansion Christmas 2014 Wesh 2 TV, Deland Fl

Stetson Mansion

WESH 2 TV tours the Stetson Mansion decked out for Christmas — owner JT Thompson and Central Florida designers transform every room with one-of-a-kind holiday decor, including a Great Gatsby-meets-1940s-glam Christmas bridal suite.

Key takeaways
  • The mansion's Christmas decorations are a seasonal draw in DeLand
  • Each room gets a different designer theme

The speedway lights

Magic of Lights fills the speedway with a drive-through display, filmed in full in 2023 (opening night pushed back by rain and flooding): the express 'dash' ticket versus general admission at $22 online / $35 at the gate AS FILMED IN 2023, a Christmas-music radio simulcast in the car, and an upcharge photo village. ONE DAYTONA's Winter Wonderland kick-off adds the district version — market stalls, a 4:30 parade, Victory Circle turned Christmas market (2024).

The houses at Christmas

The Casements' Christmas Tree Forest is the unhurried version: community groups decorating themed trees room by room, in a long walk through Rockefeller's winter home. DeLand's Stetson Mansion answers with designers — every room a different one-of-a-kind theme, Gatsby-glam bridal suite included. The Ice Arena's 'A Snowy Christmas' show opening brings the season onto the ice.

Daytona Ice Arena presents "A Snowy Christmas " - Opening Number

Kristen Wolford

Stick-and-puck etiquette explained from Daytona Ice Arena ice — the unwritten rules of open hockey sessions, demonstrated rather than narrated at length.

Daytona Beach Saturday Night Fireworks 06_13_2015

Tracii Kunkel

The full Saturday-night fireworks show over the beach beside the Bandshell, June 13, 2015 — the display that caps summer Saturdays after the concerts end.

Magic of Lights Daytona International Speedway 2023

ViewFromTheCheapSeats

A full drive-through of Magic of Lights at Daytona International Speedway, filmed in November 2023. Opening night was pushed back by rain and flooding; the film compares the 'dash' express ticket with general admission ($22 online vs. $35 at the gate, as filmed in 2023), notes the Christmas-music radio simulcast you tune to in the car, and stops at the upcharge photo village. Prices and dates are as filmed — the event returns each season.

Key takeaways
  • Drive-through light show inside Daytona International Speedway
  • Filmed 2023: $22 online vs. $35 at the gate; a 'dash' express option skips the line
  • Tune the car radio to the show's station for synced Christmas music

Tiki Christmas, and the big one up the road

Only in Daytona: a Christmas night at the Polynesian Fire Luau — buffet and fire show at $50/$59 as filmed in 2023 — followed by drinks at Sippin' Santa, the Christmas tiki pop-up. And the region's heavyweight, St. Augustine's Nights of Lights (December 2025, on foot; the hosts skip the ~$93 trolley as filmed and walk), is the classic holiday day trip an hour north. The Saturday fireworks film closes the page as the off-season reminder: this beach celebrates outdoors all year.

Sources: the 8 videos on this page, filmed at holiday events in Daytona, Ormond, DeLand and St. Augustine; all prices as filmed.

Watch: Daytona Beach Holiday Lights And Events, guided

2 videos · summaries from the actual guides

Tiki Christmas In Daytona Beach, FL | Polynesian Fire Luau And Sippin' Santa

ViewFromTheCheapSeats

A Christmas-themed night at the Polynesian Fire Luau in Daytona Beach, filmed in 2023: buffet dinner (salads, fried fish, chicken, whole pork, fried rice, cakes) and the fire show, with seating priced at $50 non-premium / $59 premium as filmed, then drinks afterwards at Sippin' Santa, the Christmas tiki pop-up. A holiday night out that is pure Daytona — luau first, Santa second.

Key takeaways
  • Polynesian Fire Luau runs a Christmas-themed night in Daytona Beach
  • Buffet dinner included; premium seating is the first rows (prices as filmed, 2023)
  • Sippin' Santa tiki pop-up follows the show in the film

The 2025 Nights Of Lights St. Augustine Experience

ViewFromTheCheapSeats

St. Augustine's Nights of Lights on foot, filmed in December 2025 — the historic downtown wrapped in white lights, about an hour north of Daytona Beach and the region's biggest holiday-lights event. The hosts skip the trolley tours (about $93 a person for a 30–40 minute ride, as filmed) and walk the displays instead, with Frosty leading their bus in. Included as the classic holiday day trip from Daytona.

Key takeaways
  • Day trip: about an hour north to St. Augustine's Nights of Lights
  • Nearly the whole historic downtown is lit in white lights
  • Trolley tours run about $93 a person as filmed — walking is free

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