Florida is not the place to go if you want classic snowy Christmas. Yesterday proved it with a new temperature record of 87 degrees measured at Orlando International Airport. The previous record had stood for 85 years – since 1928 – and was 85 degrees. According to the National Weather Service, the next days also have the potential of setting records. Yet Christmas is expected to be a little more chilly (Florida standards)
But Christmas spirit is not all about snow. There are also the Christmas lights. According to OrlandoSentinel many people who come from colder states compensate with extreme outdoor decorations. “You don’t get a lot of Christmas in Florida. We don’t get the cold weather and the snow,” said West Virginia native Sandi McVige, 67, who decorates her Casselberry home with polar bears, penguins and Santa in a hot-air balloon. “It puts you in the Christmas spirit. It’s like holiday magic.” There are many people who over decorate because they keep adding decorations every year. With time their house becomes a seasonal addition to all other Orlando attractions. Fred Akers, for example, said he gets an estimated 10,000 people stopping at his Orlando home every year to tour his large-scale Christmas village with a movie theater playing “A Christmas Story” on a 20-inch flat screen inside. Since there is no snow in Orlando Santa might have to switch to hot air balloon or something, why not a limo?