Christmas in Florida is a wonderful time to visit your favorite vacation spots and this is particularly true at Bok Gardens in Lake Wales.

The spectacular gardens are filled with Christmas ornamentation all the way up the hill to the Bok Tower, the highest spot in Southern Florida. Special holiday programs are part of the weekly calendar in December.

My wife’s favorite spot is the holiday home tour (Nov 29 to January 5) of the twenty room El Retiro estate built in the 1930’s for Bethlehem Steel VP Charles Austin Buck. The grounds are lovely but at Christmas various groups decorate each room in stunning color and design.