The best things to do in Miami this December

It’s winter in Miami—well, kind of. This year, Magic City Flea is bringing all the cozy seasonal vibes to our subtropical paradise at Downtown Miami’s Holiday Village, running on Saturdays and Sundays from November 16 to December 29. You'll find over 60 local vendors showcasing festive holiday goodies and handcrafted wares, plus Flagler Street’s very first outdoor ice skating rink, Santa appearances and more. Along the way, expect a fun lineup of community activities on Sundays, including toy drives, bounce houses and face painting for the little ones. To kick things off, there will be a magical tree and menorah-lighting ceremony on November 15 from 6 to 10pm, which includes a free performance by the Miami Symphony Orchestra.

Jungle Island's enchanting nighttime wonderland returns for a third year with over 40 all-new lantern installations inspired by fairytale worlds and kawaii culture, plus a first-ever Holiday Village and marketplace (Nov 14–Jan 5) featuring more than 100 Christmas trees, food stands with holiday treats like elephant ears and mulled wine, a bazaar with seasonal crafts and gifts and a 30-foot decorated centerpiece tree. 

A much-anticipated precursor to the holiday season in Miami, Night at the Garden returns in November for its sixth season at Fairchild Tropical Botanical Garden, promising even more psychedelic scenery and interactive artwork than ever before. Running through January 2025, Night at the Garden invites guests to frolic around a neon-lit wonderland of tropical trails lined with holographic sculptures, secret sunken ponds and hidden fairy worlds. Follow winding paths to the disco dance party, snap a pic in front of LED dandelions or visit Archie, the talking tree for a bit of age-old wisdom. This magical event welcomes the whole family and features ADA-compliant trails for wheelchairs. Tickets start at $32 for kids ages four to 10, with discounted group packages available online.

Feeling nostalgic for Santa’s Enchanted Forest? Fret not, dear reader. The spirit of Christmas and carnival rides lives on at Tropical Park with Christmas Wonderland, a local holiday production with rockin’ roller coasters, dazzling light displays and the largest traveling Ferris wheel in North America. Now in its second year, Christmas Wonderland returns with a Candyland-inspired spectacle made with five million lights, giant lollipops, swirly-twirly gumdrops and six immersive installations that make for epic photos. Plus, culinary pop-ups and boozy coquitos from local vendors, unlimited rides and complimentary parking. Pro tip: book online for a $10 discount!

As always during Miami Art Week, the six-block Faena District will come alive with its own contemporary art program filled with large-scale artworks, multimedia performances and cultural events—all free and open to the public. On the sands of Faena Beach, Native Alaskan artist Nicholas Galanin will present Seletega (run, see if people are coming/corre a ver si viene gente), an installation rising over 30 feet in height that ponders interconnectivity and our collective responsibility to future generations. In the hotel’s Cathedral lobby, Lyra Drake’s Infinite Faith in a Finite World features an AI ‘oracle’ inviting visitors to reflect on the nature of faith in an era of technological mediation. Follow Faena Art’s Instagram for more announcements to come.

From November 30 to January 3, Downtown Doral is getting decked out for the holidays with its new World of Nutcracker experience. Step into the classic Christmas tale at this ticketed event that includes live performances, animated light projections and decadent seasonal treats. The immersive show features a variety of iconic Nutcracker vignettes, including the epic duel between the Nutcracker Prince and the Mouse King. Running Tuesday through Sunday from 5 to 9:30pm, the timed-entry experience lasts around 45 minutes. General admission tickets cost $35 for adults and $18 for kids. VIP tickets cost $60 for adults and $35 for children and include paintable nutcracker keepsakes, fast-pass photos with Santa and discounts at The Doral Yard and Main Street restaurants.

Who needs drugs when you have elrow? The wildly creative, world-famous production is back in Miami for one of its most ambitious shows yet: Hallucinarium. Inspired by the psychedelic artworks of visionary artist Alex Grey, Hallucinarium will transform Factory Town into a technicolor fever dream of fractal artworks, mind-bending stage designs, dancing mushrooms and other fun surprises from sunset to sunrise. 

​​Time to brush up on your Rockafeller Skank dance. Superstar DJ Fatboy Slim returns to SLS South Beach on Friday, December 6 for a day-to-night rager at the hotel’s poolside venue, Hyde Beach, presented in partnership with The Summer Club NYC. Early bird tickets start at $40.

A mecca for immersive art, Superblue Miami has premiered a new multisensory commission just in time for Art Week. Lightfall by Studio Lemercier delves into human perception and our relationship with the natural world through an interplay of light, projection and mathematics set to ambient electronic music by Mexican artist Murcof. This immersive experience is the latest addition to Superblue’s ongoing exhibition, Every Wall is a Door, featuring works by fellow renowned artists including teamLAB, Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, James Turrell and Es Devlin. 

Known for showcasing underexposed artists and their works, the New York-based New Art Dealers Alliance brings an edge to Miami Art Week with its young gallerists, such as folks from NYC’s 56 Gallery, de boer in Los Angeles and San Juan’s Embajada. The 22nd edition of NADA Miami includes 150 exhibitors from 37 countries and 66 cities like Buenos Aires, Shanghai, Lagos, Honolulu, Caracas and Pittsburgh. The 2024 fair will also welcome 59 first-time exhibitors, among them galleries april april, Blue Velvet, Sea View and Foreign & Domestic, across its main section, the NADA Projects section and the returning Curated Spotlight, a special section organized by a renowned, yet-to-be-announced curator. Information on tickets is forthcoming. NADA Miami 2024 Exhibitors NADA Miami 2024 Galleries Exhibitor Location(s) 56 HENRY New York Abattoir Cleveland ABRA Caracas Ackerman Clarke Chicago Affinity Gallery Lagos Afternoon Projects Vancouver GALLERY AFTERNOON Seoul Alice Amati London ALZUETA GALLERY Barcelona, Madrid, Casavells Amity NYC New York april april Pittsburgh Art Heritage New Delhi Gallery Artbeat Tbilisi Jack Barrett New York Blue Velvet Zurich BOZOMAG Los Angeles Cierra Britton Gallery New York Spencer Brownstone Gallery New York Burnaway Atlanta cadet capela Paris Calvaresi Buenos Aires CAM Galeria Mexico City CARBON 12 Dubai Ceysson & Bénétière Saint-Etienne, Luxembourg, Paris, Geneva,New York, Lyon, Panéry Galerie Hugu