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St. Augustine doesn’t do snow, but it does Christmas about as well as any town I know. The whole old city gets wrapped in white lights, there’s a Christmas parade in the morning and colonial soldiers marching by torchlight at night, and you can watch lit-up boats float past a centuries-old fort.
Some of my favorite memories as a kid were bundling up (yes, it can get cold!), bringing hot chocolate from home and marveling at the beautiful Christmas decorations. I remember KNOWING Santa was real!
The trick is that most of the big stuff lands on two weekends, and the crowds follow. Here’s what’s happening in 2026, and how I’d plan around it.
St. Augustine Christmas events for 2026
| Date | Event | Time | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nov. 21 to Jan. 18 | Nights of Lights | Every evening | Free |
| Nov. 21 to Dec. 24 | The Christmas Market at Colonial Quarter | 5 to 10 p.m. | $5, kids 13 and under free |
| Select nights, Nov. 20 to Jan. 16 | Lighthouse Illuminations | Arrive 6:30, 7 or 7:30 p.m. | $22.95 to $26.95 |
| Wed., Dec. 2 | Luminary Night at the lighthouse | 6 to 9 p.m. | Free, bring a food donation |
| Thu., Dec. 3 | Lightner Museum Holiday Market | 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. | Free |
| Sat., Dec. 5 | Christmas Parade | 9 to 10:30 a.m. | Free |
| Sat., Dec. 5 | Colonial Night Watch torchlight parade | 7 p.m. | Free |
| Sun., Dec. 6 | B&B Holiday Tour | 1 to 5 p.m. | $49, or $79 with the foodie event |
| Sat., Dec. 12 | Noches de Navidad and Las Posadas | 3 to 8 p.m. | Free, $15 suggested donation |
| Sat., Dec. 12 | Holiday Regatta of Lights | 6 to 7:30 p.m. | Free |
Dates and prices come from the event listings as of November 2026. Confirm before you drive in, since these can change.
The big weekend: Dec. 4 to 6
Christmas Parade, Saturday at 9 a.m. It starts at Mission Nombre de Dios, heads south on San Marco Avenue, turns onto Cathedral Place and Cordova Street, and ends behind the Visitor Information Center. It’s free. Streets start closing around 8:15, so get downtown early, and know the free shuttles start at 8 that morning.
Colonial Night Watch, Saturday at 7 p.m. This is the one you won’t see anywhere else. Reenactors carry torches from the Visitor Information Center through the City Gate and down St. George Street to the Plaza, and you can follow along behind them from the gate. Earlier, on Friday and Saturday from 10 to 4, there’s a free encampment at the Oldest House Museum, and the museum itself is free both days.
B&B Holiday Tour, Sunday from 1 to 5. You walk through the city’s historic inns while they’re dressed up for the season, with food samples along the way. Tickets are $49, or $79 with the limited foodie event. If you like old houses, this is an easy way to see inside a bunch of them.
Regatta night: Dec. 12
The Holiday Regatta of Lights is a parade of decorated boats on Matanzas Bay, from 6 to about 7:30 p.m. It’s free from shore. The boats gather near the Vilano Beach Pier, head south and turn back at the Bridge of Lions.
The Vilano pier, the Bridge of Lions and the bayfront seawall are the usual places to watch. This year’s listing warns that construction will leave less room along the bayfront walk, so don’t count on your usual spot there. Second-floor decks at places like Meehan’s, River and Fort, and Harry’s overlook the water, if you can get a table.
Black Raven, Florida Water Tours and Scenic Cruise offer special regatta trips, and those sell out fast. If you want to be out on the water that night, book them early. Earlier that day, from 3 to 8, Noches de Navidad and Las Posadas at Mission Nombre de Dios is a quieter, more traditional way to mark the season. Admission is free, with a suggested $15 donation per adult.
Seeing the lights
Nights of Lights is the main event, and it runs every night from Nov. 21 through Jan. 18. It’s free to walk around and see. I wrote a whole Nights of Lights guide on which nights to pick, the driving route and how to skip the crowds, so start there. If you’d rather let someone else deal with it, these are the two tours I’d look at first.
One of the coolest experiences you could have is an Old Town Trolley ride with the 3D glasses. They turn 3 million lights into sparkling, Christmas-themed magic, like candy canes or snowflakes.
Florida Water Tours gets you in the holiday spirit with hot chocolate, Christmas music and 3D glasses as well. Its Nights of Lights cruise leaves from Camachee Yacht Harbor and runs about 75 minutes. Viator lists it from $45 per person, and booking direct starts at $39 for adults and $22 for kids 12 and under, so compare before you book.
More Christmas things worth doing
- Lighthouse Illuminations. The lighthouse, keeper’s house and grounds open at night with 20 themed Christmas trees, and you can climb the tower. You have to be at least 44 inches tall to climb. Parking is free, and it’s a nice break from downtown traffic.
- Luminary Night. One free evening at the lighthouse on Dec. 2. Bring a non-perishable food donation.
- The Christmas Market at Colonial Quarter, 33 St. George St. Vendors, entertainment, kids’ activities and Santa, nightly from 5 to 10, except Thanksgiving. It’s an easy stop while you’re walking the lights.
- Lightner Museum Holiday Market. One night only, Dec. 3, around the old Alcazar pool. It’s free, and worth it just to be in that building at night.
- Ximenez-Fatio House. Holiday mantel displays in one of the city’s old houses, daily from 10 to 5, for $20.
St. Augustine on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day
Christmas falls on a Friday this year. The lights still run, and it’s a pretty place to be, but plan ahead. A lot of attractions close on Christmas Day, and many Nights of Lights tours don’t run. Black Raven, Scenic Cruise, Red Boat and St. Augustine Boat Tours all list Christmas Day as a day off, and some others skip Christmas Eve too.
Book your Christmas dinner ahead, and call to confirm that it’s open. Don’t assume a place will have regular hours that day. If you’re coming the week after Christmas, expect that stretch to be one of the busiest of the season.
What’s the weather like at Christmas?
Pack layers. Winter highs are usually in the upper 60s to low 70s, but it can start in the 30s on a cold morning and warm up fast. Bring a jacket for after dark, especially on the water. The beach is still nice for a walk, but the ocean is cold. My best time to visit guide covers the rest of the year.
Where to stay at Christmas
Stay within walking distance of downtown if you can, because you’ll want to be able to walk out to the lights and leave the car parked. Book early for the December weekends. A historic inn is hard to beat this time of year, and my where to stay guide has my picks.
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A few tips before you go
- Pick your dates first. Events cluster on Dec. 5 and Dec. 12. For the lights without the crush, come Monday through Thursday in early December.
- Figure out parking early. My downtown parking guide covers the garage, the smaller lots and the shuttles.
- Reserve dinner. On a parade or regatta night, walking in rarely works. My restaurant guide has where I’d go.
- Book boats early. Holiday cruises fill up before anything else. My boat tours guide compares them.