Fort Walton Beach's Holidays Have a Theme This Year, and It Starts at the Landing

The Landing reopened this spring after its renovation, and this is its first Christmas since then. The city is treating it as the center of the season. A new tree, new lighting and a Santa's Workshop display go up on Brooks Street. Nine days later, the Christmas Parade comes up Eglin Parkway under the theme "Inside Santa's Workshop." Downtown's display and the parade share the same idea, and nearly all of the city's own holiday events fall in the ten days between them.

Here's how the season works, place by place and in date order, starting with the spot the city rebuilt.

The Landing gets its first Christmas since April

The City of Fort Walton Beach reopened the renovated Landing after a ribbon cutting on Friday, April 24, 2026. The park spent the summer with its new look, but this will be the first time it has holiday decorations since the work was finished. The city's announcement of the season's opening event describes what's new:

"The Landing has all-new Christmas displays this year, including new lighting, a new tree, and a Santa's Workshop."

That line comes from the city's November 4 post on the Holiday Market and tree lighting. The decorations didn't carry over from past years. The tree is new, the lights are new, and the workshop display ties into the parade theme the city announced for December.

October was a rough month for local public spaces. After Hurricane Isaias, the city reopened all of its parks on Monday, Oct. 12, with some limitations and a lot of debris still to clear. Against that backdrop, a fully redone downtown display at the Landing is the city's clearest holiday investment this year.

Saturday, Nov. 28: the market, then the countdown

The Downtown Fort Walton Beach Holiday Market & Light Up the Night Tree Lighting takes over the Landing at 131 Brooks Street SE on Saturday, Nov. 28, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. It's a joint event of the Downtown Fort Walton Beach organization and the city, presented by Eglin Federal Credit Union. It also falls two days after Thanksgiving, on the Saturday that many shoppers know as Small Business Saturday.

Here's how the day runs, according to the city's listing:

• 11 a.m.: More than 100 local vendors open, selling handmade goods, locally sourced products and gifts.
• All day: Live music, food trucks, cookie decorating, and a visit from Santa and Mrs. Claus.
• Late afternoon: The Fort Walton Beach Community Chorus carols during the countdown.
• 5:30 p.m.: The new tree lights. The city's post says "5:30 p.m. prompt."

Plan around that 5:30 time. Some regional event listings still show 6 p.m., but the city is running the lighting, and if you arrive at six you'll miss the countdown.

If you'd rather eat at a sit-down restaurant downtown than at a food truck, the NWF Daily News September roundup of 2026 openings lists Ace's Pub in Fort Walton Beach. It's the former Boardroom, and it held its ribbon cutting in August.

Dec. 4 through Dec. 7: four days, three locations

The Landing opens the season. The first weekend of December is when it gets crowded. In a four-day span the season moves from the fairgrounds to Okaloosa Island and back to downtown.

The toy drive is the Fort Walton Beach Police Department's Winter Wonderland, held at the Rigdon Center, which used to be the NWF Fairgrounds. Admission is free. If you bring a new, unwrapped toy or a donation of pet food, you get raffle tickets. Donations go to Emerald Coast Toys for Tots and the Panhandle Animal Welfare Society. According to the city's announcement, there will be live music, food trucks, holiday crafts, small-business vendors and photos with Santa. The department calls its Christmas village of decorated recycled pallets "legendary." Businesses and organizations that want to decorate a pallet or donate raffle items can reach out; the city's post lists Lt. Kendra Stalls as the contact.

The parade is on a Monday night this year, Dec. 7. It starts at 6:30 p.m. at Eglin Parkway and First Street, heads north on Eglin Parkway and ends at Hughes Street. Get The Coast reported that groups have until 5 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 24, to apply. The entry fee is $35, and proof of liability insurance is required. Applications are at fwb.org/christmasparade. Since the parade falls on a school and work night, the 6:30 start matters more than usual if you're picking a spot along the parkway after work.

The parade theme is what links all of this back to Brooks Street. Families who see the workshop display at the Landing on Nov. 28 will see the same idea come up Eglin Parkway nine days later.

Okaloosa Island runs the rest of December

Downtown packs its season into about ten days. Across the sound, Winter WonderIsland at The Island Resort & Convention Center runs every day from Dec. 5 through Dec. 31. The Destin-Fort Walton Beach tourism bureau's holiday guide lists lights, holiday displays, Santa photos, letters to the North Pole, themed cocktails, food trucks and live entertainment.

The resort's own calendar also lists these dated events:

1. Thanksgiving Dinner at The Island, Thursday, Nov. 26.
2. Winter WonderIsland Kickoff: Santa's Arrival, Saturday, Dec. 5, at 8 a.m. in the lobby, with photos, hot chocolate and live holiday entertainment.
3. Breakfast with Santa, Saturday, Dec. 12, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Sea Oats Kitchen & Bar, with a breakfast buffet, story time with Santa and cookie decorating.
4. A Beachy Little Christmas, Saturday, Dec. 12, noon to 4 p.m. on the beach, with Santa, Misty the Mermaid and Christmas-themed sandcastle building.
5. Cookies & Crafts with the Grump, Saturday, Dec. 19, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the lobby, with cookie decorating, crafts, face painting and live entertainment.
6. Christmas Dinner at Sea Oats, Friday, Dec. 25, 5 to 9 p.m., a holiday buffet.

The island program picks up right as downtown's ends. Once the parade is over on Dec. 7, the resort has events on the next two Saturdays, plus Christmas dinner. If you have family visiting over the holidays, the resort also has a Winter WonderIsland booking offer for Dec. 5 through 31: a $50 food-and-beverage credit for two- or three-night stays and $100 for stays of four nights or more.

The bridge between downtown and the island

Every trip between the Landing and Winter WonderIsland crosses Brooks Bridge, and the bridge is still being replaced. Get The Coast reported on September 23 that the concrete deck on the new westbound span was complete, and that the full replacement is scheduled to finish in early 2029. Earlier phases brought overnight lane reductions and traffic shifts on U.S. 98. That's worth keeping in mind if you're planning a December evening that starts downtown and ends at the resort.

If someone visiting for the parade or the tree lighting starts asking what it would take to live here year-round, I'm glad to talk it through with them. Reach out to Chris Closes to book a free consultation, or get a home valuation if the holidays have you thinking about your own next move.