Nov 30: Soapflakes and Santa Hats

If I wasn't in South Florida right now, I'd sure wish I was. The weather is glorious, that perfect balance of warmth and coolness, with little humidity and just a hint of real chill at night. My windows are thrown open wide to embrace this change, which arrived in time for the holidays. My mind was on seasonal decorations this past weekend, when I finally took down the autumnal trappings I'd had out in my condo since late September and put up the Christmas stuff. The gourds and pumpkin candleholders are gone with the last of the Thanksgiving leftovers. The multi-colored lights and gold-sparkled ornaments and my small fake Christmas tree have taken over for the next four weeks. Of course, I'm hardly the only one getting into the spirit around here.

I drove on A1A this morning, with my convertible top down and a glistening flat sea spreading out beside me. As I motored along, I noticed the holiday decorations on the Fort Lauderdale beach, something I enjoy each year. The lamp posts are wrapped in lovely green garlands with red bells - along with huge, lacey white snowflakes. It's very pretty.

And on Tuesday, December 1, downtown Fort Lauderdale officially gets into the holidays too. Christmas on Las Olas, that venerable South Florida tradition, will attract some 40,000 folks for a group party. There will be the lighted black olive and palm trees, and the soap snowflakes and people wearing short-shorts with their Santa hats, as usual. Tell me, where else can you find that, huh? Guests also will have the chance to try skating on an outside ice rink and sledding on real snow and skiing on the Peter Glenn Snowdeck. Not your typical Fort Lauderdale activities, for sure. But to me, the best part of Christmas on Las Olas is simply the people, especially the kids. The crowd is always in a festive spirit and the young children are just overwhelmed with the magic of it all. Expect lots of school and church choir singing, plenty of food and drinks and a wonderful few hours to really get into the holiday mood. Christmas on Las Olas runs from 5-11pm right in the heart of that famous Fort Lauderdale shopping district. Best of all, it's free. Take the whole family and make sure to bring a camera if you're a tourist. Your friends back in New York or wherever will love pics of those short-shorts and Santa hat outfits, trust me.