By Amelia Rogers

During Christmas time our area of Jacksonville has many annual holiday events to get into the Christmas spirit. These events include Deck the Chairs in Jacksonville Beach, the Nights of Lights in St. Augustine, and the Nocatee-A-Glow event. These are all fun ways to spend time with family and friends during the holiday season.  

The 31^st annual Nights of Lights are filled with more than three million lights displayed across the beautiful city of St. Augustine. These lights run from Nov 23 to Jan 26 to enjoy well before and after Christmas. To get the full experience of this city light up at night, trains and trolley tours are open to make sure you don’t miss a thing. This festival began in 1993 to light up the history of this old city and celebrate the season together. This experience is free of charge enjoyed yearly by between 10,000 to 20,000 people gathered to witness the dazzling display of holiday lights according to Florida’s Historic Coast. The Plaza de la Constitucion in the center of St. Augustine’s historic district is the perfect starting point for exploring the lit-up wonderland of the nation’s oldest city during the Nights of Lights. 

Jacksonville Beach Deck the Chairs fulfills a meaningful chance to gather and celebrate. This event includes decorations, concessions, and many community ambassadors to help create a magical holiday season. Deck the Chairs is a non-profit promoting children’s arts and arts education. The organization hosts a free six-week event in Jax Beach featuring a nationally decorated lifeguard exhibit. This holiday showcase features nightly light and music programming with more than 60 lifeguard chairs on display. 

Nocatee A Glow is Nocatee’s biggest and brightest community event of the year. This year it takes place on Dec 6^th and 7^th from 6:00-9:00pm. It takes place through the Nocatee Splash and Spray parks as well as the Nocatee Station Field. The light show will continue to run through Dec 30^th for residents. Festivities are set to include a Christmas village, a live nativity, train rides, food trucks, bounce houses, live music and dancing, crafts, balloon artists, and much more. This brings families together to bring in the holiday season as a community.   

Pictured: St. Augustine Nights of Lights