Get your fuzzy socks and hot cocoa ready Tampa Bay. From light displays to holiday performances and festive parties, winter is where TBAY thrives.
Gather the family and friends and celebrate what makes the holiday season special with this guide featuring 20 winter events happening between December and January.
Holiday parties/events ☃️
- Tampa’s Santa Fest and Tree Lighting | Saturday, Dec. 3 | 1-6:30 p.m. | Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park, 600 N. Ashley Dr., Tampa | Free | Take in the festive parade, then watch Mayor Castor and Santa Claus light up the tree before the holiday movie starts at 6:30 p.m.
- Hannukah Fair | Sunday, Dec. 4 | 11 a.m.-3 p.m. | Hillel Academy, 2020 W. Fletcher Ave., Tampa | Free | Get food from Wheely Kosher Pizza and Falafel Factory at this festival with bounce houses, inflatable slides, obstacle courses, face painting, balloon art, kids crafts, a book fair, and performances.
- The Holiday Promenade | Thursday, Dec. 8 | 5-8 p.m. | Water St., Tampa | Free | The first holiday promenade will include a gift wrapping station, more than 50 local vendors, and wreath/cookie decorating.
- Hot Chocolate Run Tampa Convention Center | Saturday, Dec. 17-Sunday, Dec. 18 | Tampa Convention Center, 333 S. Franklin St., Tampa | $54-$74 | Participants receive a mug filled with dark chocolate fondue and dippables as well as hot chocolate.
- Lighted Boat Parade | Sat., Dec. 17 | 6 p.m. | Tampa Riverwalk | Free | Stroll the 2.6-mile-long riverside and enjoy Tampa’s largest lighted boat parade as it takes the festivities to the water.
Holiday performances 🎭
- The Nutcracker | Friday, Dec. 2-Sunday, Dec. 4 | 7:30 p.m. | Palladium Theater, 253 Fifth Ave. N., St. Petersburg | $27 | The St. Petersburg Ballet Company’s production showcases future dancers/students of world-renowned schools and companies on the stage of St. Petersburg’s very own Historic Palladium Theater.
- Raymond James Pops Holiday Pops | Friday, Dec. 9 | 8 p.m. | The Straz Center for the Performing Arts, 1010 N. MacInnes Pl., Tampa | $5 | The Florida Orchestra performs all of Santa’s favorites at its most popular concert of the year.
- Trans-Siberian Orchestra | Sunday, Dec. 18 | 2 p.m. | Amalie Arena, 401 Channelside Dr., Tampa | $49.50-$99.50 | The show will feature old and new songs from this progressive rock band.
Light displays ✨
- Holiday Lights Immersive Experience | Friday, Dec. 2-Sunday, Dec. 4 | 12-7:30 p.m. | Fairgrounds St. Pete, 800 28th St. S., St. Petersburg | $22-$32 | Experience a sparkling spectacle of immersive art & whimsical lights during the Fairground’s inaugural Holiday Lights Immersive Experience.
- ‘ENCHANT,’ The World’s Largest Christmas Light Spectacular | Friday, Dec. 2-Sunday, Jan. 1 | 5:30-11:30 p.m. | Tropicana Field, 1 Tropicana Dr., St. Petersburg | $20-$35 | Get lost in the interactive light-maze adventure “Santa’s Magic Timepiece,” created from over four million sparkling lights.
- Oakdale Christmas Light Display | Friday, Dec. 2-Tuesday, Jan. 3 | 6-10 p.m. | Oakdale Christmas House, 2719 Oakdale St. S., St. Petersburg | Free | This lights display was featured on HGTV’s All Out Christmas Special and in PEOPLE Magazine.
- Tampa Bay’s Festival of Lights & Santa’s Village | Friday, Dec. 2-Sunday, Jan. 1 | 6-9 p.m. | Hillsborough County Fairgrounds, 215 Sydney Washer Rd., Brandon | $20-$25 | Travel nearly 2 miles through one million lights, seasonal and Florida-themed displays, and a drive-thru animated light tunnel that’s almost twice as long as last year.
- Christmas Spectacular | Friday, Dec. 2-Tuesday, Jan. 3 | 6-10 p.m. | Light Display House, 2719 Oakdale St. S., St. Petersburg | Free | Voted No. 1 by HGTV’s All Out Christmas, this walkthrough light display features 250,000 lights, model trains, giant Christmas trees, mirrored snowflake balls, and a talking Teddy bear.
NYE celebrations 🎆
- Salute to Vienna: New Year’s Concert | Saturday, Dec. 31 | 3 p.m. | Ruth Eckerd Hall, 1111 McMullen-Booth Rd., Clearwater | $35-$135 | Waltz into 2023 at this concert showcasing the golden age of Viennese music, featuring the music of Johann Strauss.
- NYE 2023: Heavenly Bodies | Saturday, Dec. 31 | 7 p.m. | Hyde House, 1646 W. Snow Ave., Tampa | $50-$ | Enjoy a private dinner before entering the gates to a dance party with one complimentary cocktail. The party goes until 1 a.m.
- New Year’s Eve: Spectacular St. Pete | Saturday, Dec. 31 | 7:30 p.m. | Coliseum, 535 Fourth Ave. N., St. Petersburg | $45 | The 13th annual Swingin’ the New Year features live music, dancing, a countdown to midnight, a balloon drop, party favors, chocolates, dance performances, a photo shoot, a cash bar, and a champagne toast.
- New Year’s Eve on the Deuces | Saturday, Dec. 31 | 8 p.m. | Manhattan Casino, 642 22nd St. S., St. Petersburg | $50-$125 | Hit the dance floor in the Jordan Ballroom for DJ dancing, live entertainment, appetizers, and open bar.
- NYElectric 2023 | Saturday, Dec. 31 | 9 p.m. | JW Marriott Tampa Water Street, 510 Water St., Tampa | $135-$200 | The hotel’s first New Year’s Eve party features a five-hour premium open bar, dancing to music by three DJ’s, a salsa bar and party favors in a massive, decorated ballroom.
- New Year’s Eve Fireworks Cruise | Saturday, Dec. 31 | 11:30 p.m. | Pirate Water Taxi, 333 S Franklin St., Tampa | $49.95-$69.95 | All ages are welcome on this one-hour cruise with champagne, party favors, and a front row seat of downtown Tampa’s fireworks.