Great, small town. Wonderful place to mail out your Christmas cards and letters. The historic fort…read moreis a great look back in time.

Christmas, Florida is a small community located east of Orlando. When I first moved to the Orlando…read moreback in 2001, Christmas, Florida was the place to head towards to mail your Christmas cards. How cool to get a Christmas card postmarked from Christmas? I guess the coolness factor can be argued. However, that is what everyone told me when I moved here. Christmas is still pretty much a rural community. That is saying something as expansion continues throughout florida, especially here in the Orlando area. The name of Christmas comes from Fort Christmas, which csn trace its roots to December 25, 1837, when two thousand United States Army soldiers and Alabama Volunteers arrived in the area to construct a fort, which they appropriately named Fort Christmas. This particular fort was one of over two hundred forts built during the Second Seminole War. Christmas, Florida is a cool enough place. Honestly, you will more than likely pass through more than you will stop here, but I am glad that I have gotten to know Christmas, Florida.

So, Bithlo does get a bad rap. If you have lived in the Orlando, Florida area for any length of…read moretime, you heard all of the jokes about Bithlo. One of my favorites was calling it the Nightmare Before Christmas because if you are leaving Orlando on State Road 50, you drive through Bithlo before hitting the town of Christmas, Florida. So, yes, Bithlo is a bit run down and has its share of trailer home. Junkyards are a big business on State Road 50 and certainly don't make you ooh and ahh at the natural beauty of Bithlo, but I still think it gets a bad rap. Bithlo is a community that has some great people and is not a bad place to visit Despite the bad rap, there is a sense of good natured pride amongst its residents. Don't believe the stories, cone check it out.

Brix and Mortar Urban Winery is located in downtown Avalon Park and is a wonderful place to spend a…read morebit of time and enjoy some of their fine wine. The service is friendly and only added to my overall experience. If you are in the downtown Avalon Park area, I would definitely recommend a visit here.

We came here on a weeknight in the summer and were a little surprised that it did not open until 5…read morePM. The place is super cute on the inside, and we had the place to ourselves when we first got there. I had the wine flight and really enjoyed all of the wines. We also shared a charcuterie board which was delightful and the server added some olives for us as well. This is a gem in Avalon Park and we will absolutely be back!

Mike and Jody are the best! They are the most down to earth, kindest couple we've met in a long…read moretime. We felt like we were with family while on our tour because they were so kind, caring and fun to be with. I surprised my husband for his birthday and he enjoyed it so much , he said it was the highlight of his day. Our kids are already planning our next trip. They said they loved Mike and Jody so much they wanted to go to the zoo with them one day. Lol. We saw Dolphins, manatees, puffer fish, an alligator, pelicans, and herons. The boat "One Love " was comfortable, very cool and provided great shade. We had great tunes playing too. It was a wonderful experience and we will not only be back but will send others. Thank you both for a wonderful experience. God bless you!

Best Dolphin Charter!!! Look no further and book with Mike. He is super cool to ride with and knows…read moreall the right spots to search for Dolphin and Manatees. We saw so many Dolphin while we were on the sandbar and sting rays too. He knows so much about the water and area and even gets in the water with you! We had a great time with him and even booked again the same evening to go back out and watch the Falcon 9 launch. That was absolutely amazing!! I highly recommend this if there is a launch when you are visiting the area. The boat is very clean, well maintained and a super smooth ride. We could have stayed out there all day with him.

My experience with Otter Paddle Winter Park was incredible!! My 12yr old daughter and I paddled…read morethrough Lake Osceola and Maitland Lake. Mandy was such a beautiful soul. She was so calm, encouraging, and knowledgeable of the wildlife & nature. If you enjoy the outdoors and it's natural beauty I highly recommend this this tour. It was my 1st time on a paddle board, but Mandy's calming energy put me at complete ease. If time permits I would love to see some of the other tours offered by Otter Paddle.

This tour was so much fun! It was our first time paddle boarding. Mandy gave great instruction and…read moremade us feel super comfortable from start to finish.

These guys showed is SO MUCH Hospitality!! Had a blast and saw like 30 gators!! Would definitely…read morerecommend!!

Captain Mike is AWESOME! He's born and raised in the area and is very knowledgeable. We really had…read morethe best time and are so glad we chose him!

Sandy has been my travel agent for years and its been a great ride! She goes the extra mile for her…read morecustomers, whether it's to get the best deal or negotiate a refund. She has planned complicated trips for us in Europe and S. America including flights, rent a cars, tours, and cruises. I can't speak highly enough of her!

I reached out to this travel agent about a trip I want to take to Japan and I heard nothing back…read moreeven after writing in length exactly what I wanted. I'm always hesitant going the travel agent way and this just proves that they either don't want the business or don't want to deal with certain people. In times like these when things are getting tough you think the people would call you back or at least send a message.

Some family friends invited me to go with them this year and I had been meaning to check it out. It…read morewas a fun way to spend a Saturday morning in December looking at crafts from some local vendors and checking out the historical features of the property. Several vendors featured the same or similar items but nonetheless you can find something unique to gift or for yourself. Loved the sugarcane stand and the multiple food options. I heard there was a beer stand in the past but I did not see one this year. It's definitely a cute couple hour thing to do and check out Christmas crafts! The signs going to the Fort were very confusing and stated "road closed, residents only" but is definitely the way to go to park and attend the event. Just an FYI.

My daughter attends University of Central Florida and I have often passed through Christmas, Fl. on…read moremy way to visit her. Although I thought the name was cute I didn't know much about the town. I saw that that there was a Christmas festival at the fort so I jumped on the chance to pay a visit. This Christmas celebration has been a tradition since 1979 and is held the first weekend in December. Cracker refers to the sound the whips made when Florida cowboys were herding cattle in the 1800's. The town and fort is called Christmas because it was the day the US Army arrived in Central Florida in 1837. Since this was my first time here I wasn't sure what to expect and was pleasantly surprised. Parking and admission are both free. The festival is held on the grounds of the recreated Fort Christmas. The original fort was built in 1837 during the Seminole Indian War. In addition there are 8 pioneer homes, a school house, lunch room, sugar cane mill, and historical farm equipment. As a lover of history I was in heaven touring so many historical buildings and they were all decorated for the holidays with the kind of decorations that would have been common for the time period. A highlight of the festival was all of the pioneer demonstrations. I got to see lace weaving, music performances, broom making, quilting, spinning, black smiths, and wood carvers. You could also visit a recreation of a military camp. After touring the houses it was time for lunch. It was so hard to choose because they were so many booths of delicious food. Some of the regional choices included BBQ, alligator, swamp cabbage, and boiled peanuts. For dessert their was a variety of baked goods. I saw a lot of people carrying around the giant bags of kettle corn. We finally settled on steak and rice. It was huge and only $7! I have never been to a festival in South Florida that had food under $12. I couldn't leave without doing a little shopping. There were so many wonderful craft vendors. I ended up purchasing a necklace with two dog shaped glass pendants representing my dogs and a UCF sign for my daughter. It was a great place to get a jump on your holiday shopping. My first visit to Christmas was amazing. I was surprised at how large the festival was but it had an old Florida feel. The festival also managed to combine three of my loves, history, food, and shopping. I hope to make this festival an annual tradition.

Avalon Park - Orlando celebrated their annual Xmas Fest Avalon Aglow in downtown Avalon. Tons of…read morevendors were set up with their many items to sell along with a bouncy play area for kids, music on two stages, Christmas lights, music, food. At the end, the fireworks glowed in the sky above the lake. It was a great event. They also started with a parade around 3 Pm. Fireworks finished the night at 9 PM for 20 minutes and these fireworks were definitely worth it. Plenty of food and drinks in restaurants, Marketplace at Avalon(their food hall) and food trucks. We had warm drinks from the The Bakery, the Colombian cafe there that is awesome. Great fun for all! Very dog friendly! Bring your chairs and blankets for the fireworks!

Best Pho in central Florida…read more Went in on a Saturday afternoon. The place was fairly busy for the time of day, but we were seated right away. Everyone was courteous and we received our food right away. The classic Bahn Mi with pork was amazing as was the Pho. Something about the broth made it way better than any other I've had in Florida. My daughter never finishes an entire bowl, but she did this day. The cute cafe atmosphere added to the whole experience, but honestly I could drink that broth from an old styrofoam cup and be just as happy. 10 out of 5 stars.

Amazing spot for Vietnamese in Avalon Park! My friend and I stopped in on a weeknight and it was…read moreeasy to find street parking. The restaurant was pretty empty but started getting more guests a little bit later. Our waitress greeted us and brought over waters. She also asked if we had any allergies that the kitchen should be aware of which was great. We started with the Shrimp Summer Rolls which was fresh, light, and paired with a delicious peanut sauce. My friend had the Pork Banh Mi and loved it, though she found it quite spicy with the jalapeños at times. I had the Grilled Chicken Vermicelli Bowl and it was amazing - lots of flavor depth, perfectly cooked noodles, and great freshness. It was definitely the best vermicelli bowl I've ever had. Also, I always look at the menu before heading to a restaurant and thought it was important to note that the menu on their website is slightly different than the menu in person. I didn't notice anything removed, but they definitely had some more French-inspired items on the in person menu (quiche, croissants, mussels, etc.). I'd recommend for the business to update their online menu! Or you'll just have to head in to see for yourself :) I completely forgot to take a photo of it‍ The decor is a bit all over the place, but the restaurant has an overall warm vibe. The waitress seemed to know many of the customers and was sweet to package up my food for me when we were finished. You pay up at the front as well rather than at your table. I'm excited to come back and try some more items!