A Panhandle Christmas

Next Christmas season, make sure you set aside a road trip to visit the panhandle if Christmas lights for you and yours is a must-see. Most agree that lighted Christmas displays are simply the best.

If you live outside the panhandle, begin your trip at dusk in downtown Defuniak Springs. The town has a wonderful lighted display around their downtown lake that is worth the trip. Simply pay the small fee to take the driving or walking tour around their downtown lake. You will enjoy hundreds of lighted Christmas displays throughout the shoreline of the lake with a beautiful mixture of colored lights reflected most beautifully on the calm, quiet lake surface.

Be sure to check out the Christmas tree display and warm up with a cup of hot chocolate at the Walton County Historical Museum before you leave. If you time your visit well, you might be able to hop on a horse and buggy rental for an extra special tour experience.

From there take a ride south down US 331 toward the gulf, and head west on US 98 to continue your tour towards Destin.

If you have not yet finished your Christmas shopping, and even if you have, you will want to stop at Destin Commons in Destin and enjoy several lovely outdoor Christmas displays that are masterfully decorated, accompanied by pleasant and familiar Christmas tunes flowing through the air from discrete sound system. There are several nice restaurants and shops to enjoy in Destin Commons to make the stop even more enjoyable. It’s a great stop for a photo op!

Next, you’ll want to trek westward still to Pensacola. Downtown Pensacola, you will find, is definitely a worthy perch to enjoy beautifully lit streets, a chance to meet Santa if you’ve been good, train rides for the little ones, and several fantastic spots to enjoy a nice meal or cocktail. The tree-lined downtown streets of Pensacola at Christmas time are absolutely worth seeing in person, with their white lights brightening the cool December nighttime air.

Don’t forget to make time to catch a magnificent gulf side sunset. And sure, it might be a little frigid at dusk in December on the gulf, but no sort of Panhandle Christmas would be complete without beautiful white sand, the smell of the wind and surf, and a beautifully painted sunset to remember. It is Florida after all