Thursday, December 25, 2025

Good Morning! On this day in 1983, the first live telecast of Walt Disney World's Very Merry Christmas Parade was broadcast on the ABC network, featuring Joan Lunden as the host and Mike Douglas as the co-host.

Merry Christmas! Today is the one day of the year when our whole team takes the day off, so there'll be no Flyover Florida tomorrow. Our weekend editions will also be a bit shorter, allowing our staff to spend time with their families. The full-size Flyover Florida will return on Monday.

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Take The Flyover with you. Busy day? Listen to our daily 15-minute podcast while commuting, cooking, or walking the dog—your Flyover fix, anywhere.

Readers' Christmas Memories

We asked for your favorite Christmas or Hanukkah memories, and your answers were both fun and touching, revealing a love for the holidays.

➤ Kathleen from Ormond Beach shared her favorite Christmas gift. "In 1951, at age 6, I asked Santa for a bicycle. On Christmas morning, I opened my presents, and no bicycle. I went into the bathroom and cried. A while later, Dad asked me to go into the basement to get his slippers. In front of the workbench was a 26-in. turquoise and navy blue Mercury bike. I sat on the step and cried until my parents came down. I couldn't reach the seat for 5 years, but it didn't matter! I rode that bike through high school. Best Christmas ever."

➤ Gail from Lakeland shared that her birthday is Dec. 25. "As a small child, my mother would bake me a birthday cake on Christmas Eve and leave it out for Santa. When I woke up in the morning, a piece was missing. I thought I was so special because Santa ate some of my birthday cake. Santa and I ate birthday cake together for years."

➤ Cindy from Sanford shared that she and her family have a tradition of giving pajamas as a Christmas Eve gift.

➤ Joy shared memories of her family celebrating in a 19-foot travel trailer and how her mother managed to make it special.

➤ Susan in Fort Myers gathers 60 of her relatives each year for skeet shooting, while Pamela in Pensacola fondly remembers water skiing on Lake Hollingsworth in Lakeland.

➤ Jen had the dog lovers in our crew crying with her story about Greg, who was found by the side of the road in New Smyrna Beach this season. He's now at Southeast Volusia Humane Society, awaiting a needed hernia surgery, dressed in his Christmas pajamas. Jen and all of us at Flyover Florida are hoping Greg finds a new home for Christmas.

Florida's National Christmas Tree

The National Christmas Tree is lit in our nation's capital outside the White House and features 58 smaller trees lining what's called the Pathway of Peace around the larger tree.

The 58 trees feature ornaments made by students from each state, including Florida. The ornaments are made by students ages 4 to 19 and are inspired by things that represent their states.

Florida's tree is located closest to the White House this year. Ornaments decorated by students from Cornerstone Charter Academy in Belle Isle share images of the Florida panther, sea turtles, and Everglades-inspired wildlife illustrations.

You can watch the 103rd National Tree Lighting Ceremony here.

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➤ These five Christmas towns in the Sunshine State have Hallmark movie vibes. (See List)

➤ Are you a master of Disney Christmas movie trivia? (Take Quiz)

➤ Disney and Hallmark Channel have teamed up for a new original holiday movie called Holiday Ever After: A Disney World Wish Come True. The movie is set to air in 2026 and will star Lacey Chabert and Travis Van Winkle. (More)

➤ These are the most popular Christmas songs in every state. In Florida, it's Feliz Navidad. (See Map)

➤ Here's the history behind the Florida town named Christmas. (More)

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