Christmas is festive by name and peaceful by nature
It’s Christmas year-round in rural Orange County, thanks to a small unincorporated community with a name dripping in yuletide cheer. Christmas, home to fewer than 2,000, gets its merry moniker from a long-gone outpost built during the Second Seminole War. Construction started on December 25th, 1837, earning it the name Fort Christmas. The fort was abandoned and retaken by nature, but today, just south of the original site, a replica stands in Fort Christmas Historical Park. Beyond the history, the unincorporated community of Christmas offers country living and proximity to ample outdoor recreation. “There is a Christmas RV Park, and people from all over come and go there, but outside of that, it’s a homebody town,” says local Robert Carrigan, the broker of Carrigan Land Group. “People know their neighbors, but it’s not a cookie-cutter neighborhood; you have more than enough room on your property to not get bothered with people.”
Manufactured homes sit on large lots, some over an acre
The community features a selection of manufactured homes on large lots. “Some of the smallest properties in Christmas are half an acre to an acre,” Carrigan says. “There are lots of acres out there, plenty of multiacre lots.” Prices for homes here range from around $150,000 to $300,000. The area is within the St. Johns River floodplain. It has several special flood zones around it, making hurricane season, which runs from June to November, a particular concern for residents here. Properties touching a special flood zone may require flood insurance for a federally backed mortgage.
East River High offers career-focused learning pathways
Christmas is served by Orange County Public Schools, which earns an overall A-minus on Niche. The north side of the community is zoned for Columbia Elementary, graded A-minus, and Corner Lake Middle, graded B. Students living on the south side can attend Wedgefield School, which receives a B-plus, for prekindergarten through eighth grade. East River High, also graded B-plus, serves all of Christmas, featuring a variety of career pathways. Subjects are as varied as law enforcement, visual design and engineering.
Nature’s the gift that keeps on giving in Christmas
Local spaces with typical park amenities include Fort Christmas Historical Park. It has a ballfield, a playground and courts for basketball and tennis. Here visitors can also view thee 1977 replica of Fort Christmas. East Orange District Park has soccer and football fields. It abuts the roughly 900-acre Savage Christmas Creek Preserve, which features hiking and equestrian trails. Local hikers can also explore nearby sections of the Florida National Scenic Trail, including the Seminole Ranch and Tosohatchee trails, both of which wind through marshy conservation and wildlife management areas, partially shaded by mature palm and oak hammocks. The Orlando Wetlands is also close by, stretching over 1,500 acres. “Holy crap, that’s the best part about Christmas,” Carrigan says. “It’s an Orlando water facility that shoots water into these different connected ponds, or holding tanks. Nature itself filters the water and, after it goes through the last retention pond, it’s filtered into the St. Johns River. I’ve been there on an airboat – Christmas is a huge airboat community.” The St. Johns River, accessible just east of the community, is a popular airboating destination.
One grocery store in town, with big-box stores 10 miles east
Christmas Grocery sits between a local ice cream shop and a local barber shop on Colonial Drive, also known as Florida Road 50. When it comes to restocking the pantry, or ordering a hot-and-ready meal, the locally owned store is the nearest choice; however, Heart of Christmas Farms sells fresh organic produce off of Fort Christmas Road, and Titusville has more shopping and dining options about 10 miles east, including Walmart Supercenter, Target, The Home Depot, Cracker Barrel Old Country Store and Beef ‘O’ Brady’s.
Swampy steals the show in this wild destination
Peak tourist season in Christmas means Jungle Adventures is going to get a lot of visitors. The locally owned Floridian animal park has been a staple for over 50 years. It’s home to the world’s largest alligator structure, affectionately named Swampy. Guests enter the belly of the beast to purchase tickets and gift shop items. Beyond the 200-foot-long concrete gator, Jungle Adventures features live alligators, pumas, wolves, tortoises, snakes, tropical birds and more. “The reptile-gator exhibit is like a mini Gatorland – it’s great,” Carrigan says. As for Orlando’s headline attractions, Disney World is about 50 miles away, and Universal Studios is closer to 40 miles away.
Florida Road 50 links Christmas to Orlando and I-95
Florida Road 50 is the main thoroughfare in and out of Christmas. It connects to Interstate 95 about 10 miles east, and it’s a straight shot into Downtown Orlando, about 25 miles west; commuters can exit onto the Spessard L. Holland East-West Expressway for a zippier route. The closest emergency room – AdventHealth Waterford Lakes Emergency Room – is just outside Orlando, about 10 miles away. The drive to Orlando International Airport is about 30 miles.
Written By
Micaela Willoughby
Photography Contributed By
Philip Bicy
