How To Have A Family Friendly Christmas In Miami

I spent Christmas in Miami because I hate cold weather but luckily like the birds I had the opportunity to fly south for the winter.  Actually most Christmas’ I go south because that is where my family is but this year we had our family Christmas vacation is Miami where my aunt lives. You can also check out when I went west for the winter in California by clicking my blog here. 

For me Miami turned into the ideal Christmas vacation because it is warm and always has something to do. I have been to Miami before and it can be a little adult oriented, but I spend my family vacation here and my son loved it.

Some of the perks of spending Christmas in Miami was that the whole time we were there is was at least 80 degrees or higher.  This means no heavy clothing, coats, and heavy bags to take with you though the airport.  I was able to carry a small carry on that contain all of my clothing (click here to read my blog on how to make a carry on). And we even got to dip our feet in the pool a few times.

A Family Friendly Christmas In Miami. Flying South For The Winter

Christmas In Miami What We Did Day 1

By the time I got in it was late into the evening because I had to leave after work. I was really lucky that I did not have to pay to stay in Miami because that would have made this trip not as affordable because it is expensive to stay in Miami. Instead I stayed at my aunts house free of cost. Family was coming in and we just sat around the house, chilled out, made some smores, and had fun.  I only spent three days in Miami and it was good enough for me.

Christmas In Miami What We Did Christmas Day

I actually spent Christmas with my family during the day.  We are a really close family and even though we were on vacation I did not just want to abandon family tradition. We played a good game of poker and you know that I was killing it. Once things died down that is when we decided to go out.

Christmas In Miami What We Did Christmas Evening

In the evening we decided to go Ocean drive.  And even though it was a holiday it was still very packed with people.  We first took a walk on the beach which was pretty well lite for it to be night time.  And we put our feet into the water.

I chose not to bring my son that night to Ocean drive because it was getting late (we got there at 7pm and left around 11:30) but there was actually a lot of people out there with their kids.  Also walking up Ocean drives means happy hour.  I got a small fish bowl drink for $29 (they had a bigger fish bowl for $44).  And even though that may sound expensive it was more like two drinks in one the bigger one is like four drinks in one. And I got one for free.  So doing the math I really count that as 4 drinks for $29 plus the host offered our whole table free shots to sit down and eat there.

A Family Friendly Christmas In Miami. Flying South For The Winter

Christmas In Miami What We Did Day 2

Since my mom and my son had never been to Ocean drive, we decided to go back.  When we went there in the evening we pretty much just found a place to eat, sat down, and had some drinks.  We did not have a chance to explore or walk up and down Ocean Drive.  Bringing my son during the day was much more fun and kid friendly.  Since it was so warm, I took my son to dip his feet in the water.  And there were people out there fully immersed in the beach.  So that is something you can do as a family if you wanted to.

The next thing we did was eat.  There were so many of my family members that we thought finding place would hard.  But it wasn’t.  When you walk up and down Ocean Drive.  There are people trying to get your attention, showing you the menu, and also trying to strike a deal with you and make your food cheaper because they want you to eat there.  Because we had a big group we actually got a big discount on the place we decided to eat AND a private place to eat inside.  Of course my son had to be grown and have his own virgin drink.  He was living in the moment.

A Family Friendly Christmas In Miami. Flying South For The Winter

Christmas In Miami Things To Remember When you go up and down Ocean Drive:

  • The menu is always posted outside of every restaurant. Make sure you look it over to see if you would like the food and to see if it is in your budget. The restaurants out there can get quite pricey.
  • The tip is already added to your receipt so there is no need to add an additional tip after paying for your food, unless you really want to.
  • Hold out. When you walk pass a restaurant and are reluctant to eat there, the host will offer you a deal.  The first restaurant offered us free shots and buy one get one free drinks.  The second restaurant we ate at the next day offered us buy one get one free drinks and 20% off of our entire check.
  • If you can take a cab to Ocean drive, an uber, or stay in a hotel there do so. It is really hard to find parking and the parking garages there can get quite prices.
Other things to do while in South Beach (Ocean Drive).
  • Rent a bike
  • Rent a luxuary sports car
  • Shop, eat, and/or drink
  • Go to the beach
  • Watch people and/or luxury cars drive by.

Christmas In Miami Last Night There

I went to Christmas in Miami, but only really spent 3 days there.  The first day Aside from Ocean Drive there were other things that we did in Florida or wanted to do.  The first was go to the club.  Most of the clubs there are 21 and up.  So if you are under 21 you are going to have a hard time getting into some where if you want to party like that.  For our club of choice since we went to Ocean drive twice during our trip we decided against going there for the club.  We decided to go to the Blue Martini in Miami, Florida.  There was a full parking lot that was free to park and also a sport bar nearby that was packed.

As for the Blue Martini it was more like a lounge, they had some seating (the bar and some tables that was mostly reserved).  The crowd was mixed and the music was a mix between hip hop, latin, and pop.  When we first came in the lounge had a live band that was awesome.  Some of the activities inside the lounge aside from drinking and dancing are hookah which is $35.

Other activities that we wanted to do but just did not get to but still are insanely popular around Christmas time is the Santa’s Enchanted Forrest.  This is an really good family activity if you are spending Christmas in Miami. Although we did not get to go there we saw it driving by the highway.  It has games, rides, roller coasters, and was lit up like the 4th of July.  It is a pretty big size and outdoors, but due to the weather being so nice you will not feel like your freezing while exploring the grounds.

If you want full summary of my vacation, check out my vlog video. Most of it was about spending time with family.  And since I was only there for three days the time we were actually out and about was limited.  But enjoy.

A Family Friendly Christmas In Miami. Flying South For The Winter

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