The easiest way to spend Christmas in Orlando with the whole family is to rent one whole house, or two in the same neighborhood, and make it the family home for the holidays. Our largest houses sleep 15, 14, 13, 11 and 10 people. Each has its own kitchen, dining table, washer and dryer, and they sit on the west, northwest and downtown edges of the city, a short drive from the Christmas tree at Lake Eola, the Kia Center and Camping World Stadium. Christmas Day 2026 falls on a Friday and New Year's Day 2027 on the Friday after, and the Citrus Bowl kicks off at noon on Saturday, January 2, 2027. A stay from Monday, December 21 through Sunday, January 3 covers Christmas, New Year's and the Citrus Bowl in one trip.
This guide is for the person organizing it: the grandparent who wants everyone together this year, or the sibling who said yes to planning it. Drive times in this guide are by road without traffic, from each home's own figures. If your group is bigger than one house, our guide to housing a reunion or a big group in Orlando covers the booking side in detail, and this one stays on the holidays. For other kinds of Orlando trips, start at our vacation stays page.
Why a whole house works for Christmas week
A house gives you the things a family Christmas runs on: a kitchen where three generations can cook together, a living room where the kids open presents in pajamas, and a dining table where everyone sits down at the same time. It also gives you one address. Nobody texts a room number, nobody waits for an elevator with a tray of cookies, and the cousins go from bedroom to bedroom down one hallway.
Two weeks is long enough for the small things to matter. Every one of our larger homes has a washer and a dryer, so the park clothes, church clothes and Christmas pajamas all get washed at the house. Each has free parking on the property, which helps when two or three households drive in with gifts in the trunk. And each has more than one bathroom, which decides how the morning goes before a park day.
These are family homes in established Orlando neighborhoods, set up for families and groups. Two of them have a game built into the house: The Clue House is a whodunit with each bedroom styled after one of the suspects, and Piedmont has a Secret Garden riddle quest that ends at a treasure chest. Kids who have opened every present by nine in the morning have something to solve before dinner. You can browse every home by size on our large group vacation homes page, or see the family picks on family vacation rentals in Orlando.
The 2026 holiday dates at a glance
These are the dates that shape a family Christmas in Orlando this year. We checked each date in October 2026; confirm times before you go. The sections further down give the detail.
- Friday, December 4: the City of Orlando's Tree Lighting Celebration at Lake Eola Park, 5:30 to 9:30 p.m., free.
- Through Tuesday, December 22: Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party on select nights at Magic Kingdom. December 20 and 22 are the last two.
- Through Sunday, December 27: Orlando Ballet's The Nutcracker at the Dr. Phillips Center, with a 1 p.m. family performance on Christmas Eve.
- Through Wednesday, December 30: the EPCOT International Festival of the Holidays.
- Through Sunday, January 3: Universal Orlando's holiday season, with its holiday parade nightly.
- Through Sunday, January 3: ICE at Gaylord Palms in Kissimmee.
- Select nights through Sunday, January 3: Dazzling Nights at Harry P. Leu Gardens.
- Through Monday, January 4: SeaWorld's Christmas Celebration on select dates, with New Year's Eve fireworks on December 31.
- December 21, 23, 26 and 27, and January 3: Orlando Magic home games at the Kia Center.
- Tuesday, December 29: the Pop-Tarts Bowl at Camping World Stadium, 5:30 p.m.
- Saturday, January 2, 2027: the Citrus Bowl at Camping World Stadium, noon.
The whole season, including concerts and smaller events, is on our Orlando events calendar.
Booking holiday dates early
We have five homes that sleep ten or more, and Christmas week is when the most families want one. Settle your dates before December 6, when the bowl teams are picked. Several of our houses sit a few minutes from Camping World Stadium, and a family that books in October or November has the widest choice.
Start with the dates and the head count. Check live prices for your nights on our search page, or send us your dates, the number of adults and children, and any needs (a crib, a ground-floor bedroom for a grandparent, a dog) through our contact page. We'll send your total, confirmed in writing. You book with a deposit and get an itemized receipt. If you are thinking of staying past New Year's into the winter, our guide to spending the winter in Orlando covers the longer version of this trip.
The homes by family size
Start with the number of people who will sleep in the house, then look at bathrooms. Five of our homes sleep ten or more, and they are the ones families ask about for Christmas.
The Clue House at 677 Head Avenue in Pine Hills is the largest: six bedrooms and three bathrooms, with seven beds plus sofa beds and an air mattress for up to 15 people. Each bedroom is styled after a suspect in the classic whodunit, and the house has board games, cards and dominoes, children's books and toys, a crib, and a bedroom with a fireplace. For a family with small children and teenagers in the same week, the mystery in the hallway is a ready-made Christmas afternoon.
Piedmont at 4445 Piedmont Street in Washington Shores has four bedrooms and three bathrooms, with five beds plus sofa beds for up to 14. It is a single-level home with a Secret Garden theme and a riddle quest, a game room with foosball and a basketball arcade, a ping-pong table and a billiards table, a spacious fenced backyard and a long private driveway. Game Day Getaway at 510 South Dollins Avenue, also in Washington Shores, has four bedrooms and two bathrooms, with nine beds, including bunk beds, for up to 13, plus a king bedroom and a screened porch with dining space.
Entertainment Home in Pine Hills has three bedrooms plus a bonus room the house calls the Sky Room and two bathrooms, with four beds plus couch beds and an air mattress for up to 11. It has a ping-pong table, a hammock and everything on one level. Fruit Tree Home at 1010 25th Street in Holden Heights has three bedrooms and two bathrooms, with four beds plus couch beds and an air mattress for up to 10, a covered porch with a dining table, a screened porch, a grill, and star fruit and longan trees in the garden. Each guest may pick one piece of fruit during the stay; the house rules explain.
Below ten, Meet. Play. Stay. in Malibu Groves sleeps 9 with a game room and a billiards table. Five homes sleep 8: Amelia’s Arena Retreat with four bedrooms and two bathrooms, Downtown & Stadium Cozy Retreat with a bunk room, City and Stadium Sanctuary Vibes, WinterPark Home and Cozy Home. BlueEarth sleeps 7 in four queen bedrooms and Wekiwa Home sleeps 6. A family of eight or nine fits in one of these.
What families and groups said
Here's what recent families and groups said, starting with three reviews of The Clue House.
"Good stay! Host was very friendly and the space was great!"
"The house was great and clean would recommend"
"Great Stay! Thank you for hosting! Would definitely book again!"
Shevone, who stayed at Piedmont in April 2025, wrote: 'It was a great place to stay with children and having the lil entertainment activities around the house. Spaciois clean and appreciated the stay 100%'. Thao, at Piedmont in February 2026, wrote: 'Great place for a big group. The place was nice and updated.' At Fruit Tree Home, Veronica wrote in March 2026: 'It was a great place to stay. Beds were confortable and there was enough room for all of us'. Fruit Tree Home carries a 4.72 rating across 158 reviews, The Clue House 4.71 across 70, and Meet. Play. Stay. a 5.0 across 39. Questions about a house? Ask us.
Two houses for one family
When the head count runs past 15, the answer is two houses in the same neighborhood, with Christmas dinner at the bigger one. Families usually split by household or by generation: the grandparents and one sibling's family in the host house, the cousins in the second.
Build the pair around The Clue House or Piedmont, because those are the two homes where the whole family can gather for dinner once you have told us first and we have approved it. In Pine Hills, The Clue House hosts and Entertainment Home is the second house: together they sleep 26. If you need more room, Cozy Home and Downtown & Stadium Cozy Retreat, each sleeping 8, are in Pine Hills too. In Washington Shores, Piedmont hosts and Game Day Getaway is the second house: together they sleep 27, and City and Stadium Sanctuary Vibes adds 8 more. The Pine Hills and Washington Shores neighborhood pages show where each cluster sits.
The numbers work for most family sizes. A family of 20 fits in The Clue House plus Cozy Home, or Piedmont plus City and Stadium Sanctuary Vibes. A family of 25 fits in The Clue House plus Entertainment Home, or Piedmont plus Game Day Getaway. Tell us the head count by household and we will suggest the split.
Game Day Getaway works best as the sleeping house in a pair. Its kitchen has an oven, a microwave, a dishwasher and a coffee maker with coffee, which covers breakfasts and snacks, and its bunk room is a natural home for the cousins. Piedmont, in the same neighborhood, has the full kitchen, the stove and the game room for the big meals.
Each house gets its own reservation, and one person should be the point of contact for all of them. Our reunion guide covers the rest of the multi-house booking, from arrival order to splitting costs.
Plan the days in between, too. Pick the host house as the morning meeting point on park days, so the cars leave together. Keep the presents for the youngest children at the house where they sleep, so Christmas morning starts there. Put the family's shared supplies, the big cooler, the folding chairs you bring, the board games from home, in the host house.
Bedrooms for grandparents, parents and kids
A holiday house works best when each generation gets the part of the house that suits it. Grandparents want a quiet bedroom, a bathroom close by and no stairs. Parents of small children want a crib and a door that closes at seven. Teenagers want their own space away from the adults.
For grandparents, The Clue House, Piedmont, Game Day Getaway and Entertainment Home are all on one level, and so are Meet. Play. Stay., City and Stadium Sanctuary Vibes, Cozy Home, BlueEarth and Wekiwa Home. Piedmont has a king bedroom with vaulted ceilings and another bedroom with an en suite bath, and Game Day Getaway has a king bedroom and a bedroom with ensuite bath access. Give those rooms to the oldest guests.
For babies, The Clue House has a crib in a family-friendly bedroom, and Fruit Tree Home, Entertainment Home and Meet. Play. Stay. have travel cribs. Tell us when you book so the crib is in the right room. The Clue House also has children's books and toys, which buys the parents a slow cup of coffee on Christmas morning.
For kids and teenagers, Game Day Getaway has a bunk room with a TV, and Downtown & Stadium Cozy Retreat has a bunk room with twin-over-twin beds and blackout drapes. Entertainment Home's Sky Room gives the older kids a space apart from the living room. The Clue House, Piedmont, Game Day Getaway, Entertainment Home and Fruit Tree Home have room-darkening shades, useful after a late night at the parks or a New Year's countdown.
A family of 12 at The Clue House
Here is how a family of twelve, grandparents, three adult children with partners and four grandchildren, can sleep at The Clue House. The grandparents take the king bedroom. Two couples take the two queen bedrooms, one of which also has a sofa bed for a child. The bedroom with two double beds goes to two of the grandchildren, the bedroom with one double bed to the third couple, and the baby sleeps in the room with the crib. That leaves the living room couch beds free for a late-arriving cousin on the booking, and nobody shares a bed with a relative they did not plan to.
Bathrooms in the five largest homes:
- The Clue House: three bathrooms for up to 15.
- Piedmont: three bathrooms for up to 14.
- Game Day Getaway: two bathrooms for up to 13.
- Entertainment Home: two bathrooms for up to 11.
- Fruit Tree Home: two bathrooms for up to 10.
On a park morning, stagger showers by bathroom: the early risers the night before, the kids first in the morning, the adults while breakfast is on.
Cooking Christmas dinner in the house
Christmas dinner at the house is the reason most families rent one, so plan it in the house with the kitchen built for it. Here is what each of the larger kitchens has.
The Clue House has an oven and a stove, a microwave, a dishwasher, a blender, a coffee maker, wine glasses, cooking basics, and dishes and silverware. The kitchen has a stainless range, granite counters and stocked cookware, next to a dining room with seating for group meals. Piedmont has an oven and a stove, a baking sheet, a toaster, a hot water kettle, a coffee maker with coffee, a dishwasher, a freezer and wine glasses, and its dining area flows into the game room, so the kids are in sight while the turkey rests. Those two are the Christmas-dinner houses for a big family.
Fruit Tree Home has an oven, a stove, a toaster, a microwave, a dishwasher, a freezer and a coffee maker, plus a grill with barbecue utensils and a covered porch with a dining table and a ceiling fan. On a mild Christmas afternoon the porch is a second dining room. Entertainment Home has an oven, a stove, a microwave, a dishwasher, a freezer, a coffee maker and cooking basics, with a dining room off the open-plan living area. Both suit a family of ten or eleven cooking for themselves.
Among the smaller homes, Meet. Play. Stay. has an oven, a stove, a baking sheet, a toaster, a kettle and wine glasses, and Amelia’s Arena Retreat has a coffee station, a cabinet of pots and pans, and wine stemware. WinterPark Home has a grill on its screened patio.
Send us your menu and we'll check for a roasting pan, carving set, stockpot, pie dish, stand mixer or slow cooker before you arrive. Anything the house does not have, pack it or pick it up on the first grocery run. A cooler for drinks frees fridge space on the big day, and the dishwasher and the washer and dryer take care of the dishes, tablecloths and dish towels after dinner.
The menu and the shopping list
A Christmas dinner for twelve or fifteen goes better when it is split. Give each household one part of the meal and agree on it before anyone leaves home, so the shopping happens once.
A sample menu split by household
- The host household: the main dish (turkey, ham or both) and the gravy, since they have the oven.
- Household two: the sides: potatoes, stuffing, green beans, a salad, cranberry sauce.
- Household three: bread, desserts and the pies, made on Christmas Eve.
- The grandparents: the one family recipe nobody else is allowed to make.
- The kids: setting the table, place cards with everyone's names, and carrying plates to the dishwasher.
- Breakfasts: a different household each morning, so nobody cooks three meals a day.
A shopping list for 15, in two trips
Stock up on arrival day, Monday, December 21, with what the first days need:
- Coffee, tea, milk, creamer and juice.
- Breakfast: eggs, bread, cereal, fruit, yogurt.
- Lunch and snacks for park days: sandwich supplies, chips, granola bars, water.
- Basics: foil, plastic wrap, zip-top bags, paper towels, dish soap.
Do the Christmas shop on the morning of Wednesday, December 23:
- The main dish, ordered ahead if your store takes orders.
- Produce for the sides and salad.
- Butter, cream, cheese and eggs for baking.
- Flour, sugar and pie crusts.
- Bread or rolls.
- Drinks for Christmas Day, and sparkling cider or champagne for New Year's Eve.
Stores fill up right before Christmas and holiday hours vary, so check your store's hours for December 24 and 25 when you arrive. The freezers at The Clue House, Piedmont, Entertainment Home and Fruit Tree Home take the overflow, and leftovers become sandwiches for the next park day.
Our local guides name the grocery stores and Caribbean, Latin and American markets near each cluster: the Pine Hills area guide for The Clue House and Entertainment Home, the Washington Shores area guide for Piedmont and Game Day Getaway, and the downtown area guide for Fruit Tree Home.
The cooking schedule
Write down what goes in the oven and when, working back from the time you want to eat. Casseroles, pies and cranberry sauce get made on the 24th. Keep one dish on the stove or the grill, so the oven is free for the main course. Set the table the night before, and Christmas morning is for presents and coffee.
Christmas morning at the house
Christmas morning runs best with a little planning the night before.
On Christmas Eve, after the kids are asleep, put the presents out in the living room and the coffee in the coffee maker, ready to switch on. Piedmont and Game Day Getaway have coffee in the kitchen, and Amelia’s Arena Retreat has a coffee station. Slide a breakfast casserole or cinnamon rolls into the fridge, ready for the oven. If the family hangs stockings, bring them in the suitcase and hang them on the backs of the dining chairs.
Christmas Eve evening sets the tone. Keep dinner simple, a pot of chili, a tray of lasagna or takeout, since the big meal is the next day. Read a Christmas story to the kids, set out cookies, and send everyone to bed at a reasonable hour so the morning starts on time. If part of the family is going to a late service, the rest can wrap the last presents at the house.
In the morning, let the youngest go first, one present at a time, so the grandparents see every face. Take the family photo while everyone is still in matching pajamas. Then breakfast, and a call to the relatives back home.
The middle of the day is where the house games come in. At The Clue House, the mystery starts at the entryway, where a framed letter from your hosts begins the game, and the how-to-play rules are in the home. At Piedmont, a framed letter at the entry starts the Secret Garden quest, which ends at a treasure chest. Leave the furniture and decorations where they are, since each item is part of the game. The houses without a built-in game have board games or a game room: Meet. Play. Stay. has a billiards table and board games, Entertainment Home has ping-pong, and Game Day Getaway has board games.
The cook starts the main dish while the game is on. By mid-afternoon everyone sits down at one table. After dinner, a walk helps: the loop around Lake Eola is about a mile, and the Christmas tree there is lit after dark.
A day-by-day plan for Christmas week
Here is one way to spend the 2026 holidays, from Monday, December 21 through Sunday, January 3, built on the dates that are already set. Pick the days that suit your family and leave the rest open.
Monday, December 21: arrival day
Most families fly into Orlando International Airport, about 26 minutes from Fruit Tree Home, 29 from Game Day Getaway and 33 from The Clue House, Piedmont and Entertainment Home. Orlando Sanford International Airport is 39 to 43 minutes from those homes. Send us the arrival order when you book, so every household has the address and entry details before the first car pulls up. The Clue House, Piedmont, Game Day Getaway, Fruit Tree Home, Amelia’s Arena Retreat and WinterPark Home publish a street address; the other homes share theirs once you book. The first household in does the arrival stock-up. Basketball fans can catch the Orlando Magic against the Sacramento Kings at 7 p.m. at the Kia Center.
Tuesday, December 22
A park day. It is the last night of Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party at Magic Kingdom, a separate evening ticket. Or spend the day at Universal, where the holiday parade runs nightly.
Wednesday, December 23
The Christmas shop in the morning. A 2 p.m. family performance of The Nutcracker at the Dr. Phillips Center, an early dinner, and the Christmas tree at Lake Eola after dark. The Magic play the Charlotte Hornets at home at 7 p.m.
Thursday, December 24
Christmas Eve. Cook the make-ahead dishes in the morning. The Nutcracker has a 1 p.m. family show. Evening church services follow, and the kids go to bed early.
Friday, December 25
Christmas Day at the house: presents, breakfast, the house game, dinner in the afternoon and a walk around Lake Eola.
Saturday, December 26
Back to the parks or a day at SeaWorld, where the Kwanzaa celebration starts on the 26th. The Magic host the Toronto Raptors at 7 p.m.
Sunday, December 27
Church in the morning, the final Nutcracker at 2 p.m., and the Magic against the Milwaukee Bucks at 6 p.m.
Monday and Tuesday, December 28 and 29
A day trip on Monday: Kennedy Space Center is 71 to 75 minutes from our larger homes. Tuesday night is the Pop-Tarts Bowl, 5:30 p.m. at Camping World Stadium.
Wednesday, December 30
The last day of the EPCOT International Festival of the Holidays.
Thursday, December 31 and Friday, January 1
New Year's Eve, early or late, and a slow New Year's Day with leftovers and football on TV.
Saturday, January 2
The Citrus Bowl kicks off at noon: an afternoon at the game, then a last family dinner at the house. Pack the cars that night.
Sunday, January 3: checkout day
Start the dishwasher and follow the checkout notes in the house. Ask early for a late checkout and we'll do our best. If your flight leaves late on Sunday, January 3, Universal's holiday parade and ICE at Gaylord Palms are both on through that day.
The family schedule on one page
Print this for the fridge and fill it in on the first night:
- Arrivals and departures: each household's flight or drive, and who picks up whom.
- Breakfast crew: one household per morning.
- Dish crew: a different pair each night, kids included.
- Cars: which car goes to which event, and who drives.
- Fixed times: every ticketed event with its start time and when to leave the house.
- Nap and bedtime windows: for the little ones, so the house stays calm when it needs to.
- Church: which service each household is going to.
Lake Eola and downtown Orlando at Christmas
Lake Eola Park is where downtown Orlando does Christmas. The city puts up a tall Christmas tree at Washington Plaza and switches it on at its Tree Lighting Celebration, set for Friday, December 4, 2026, from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. The evening is free, with holiday performances at the Lake Eola Amphitheater, food trucks, the Merry Market with more than 30 vendors, a visit with Santa and snowfall in Florida. That is three weeks before Christmas, so it suits families arriving early, snowbirds and anyone who lives close enough to drive in.
Christmas tree in Lake Eola park · Michael Rivera · CC BY-SA 4.0 · resized from 5184x3456
For a Christmas-week visit, the tree itself is the draw. Last season the city's tree stood 64 feet tall with 2,000 ornaments and more than 88,000 animated lights synchronized with the Lake Eola fountain, with a show every hour in the evening. Last year the tree show ran nightly; check the city's site for 2026 times. Walk the loop around the lake, about a mile, and catch the show on the hour.
A Lake Eola evening works for every age. Go at dusk so the kids see the tree go from daylight to lit, walk part of the loop past the fountain, and save the hourly show for the end, when the little ones are ready to head back to the house. The grandparents can sit for the show instead of walking the full loop. On the evening of the tree lighting, plan for a crowd and arrive early.
Here is the drive to Lake Eola and the Kia Center from each home.
| Home | Lake Eola Park | Kia Center |
|---|---|---|
| Fruit Tree HomeHolden Heights · 3 bd · 2 ba · sleeps 10 | 8 min | 6 min |
| City and Stadium Sanctuary VibesWashington Shores / Lake Sunset · 3 bd · 1 ba · sleeps 8 | 8 min | 8 min |
| Game Day Getaway-Downtown OrlandoWashington Shores · 4 bd · 2 ba · sleeps 13 | 8 min | 8 min |
| Amelia’s Arena RetreatParramore / Downtown Edge · 4 bd · 2 ba · sleeps 8 | 8 min | 7 min |
| Meet. Play. Stay.Malibu Groves · 3 bd · 2 ba · sleeps 9 | 11 min | 10 min |
| Entertainment HomePine Hills · 3 bd · 2 ba · sleeps 11 | 12 min | 11 min |
| The Clue HousePine Hills / Rosemont · 6 bd · 3 ba · sleeps 15 | 12 min | 10 min |
| PiedmontWashington Shores · 4 bd · 3 ba · sleeps 14 | 12 min | 12 min |
| Cozy HomePine Hills · 3 bd · 1 ba · sleeps 8 | 12 min | 11 min |
| WinterPark HomeLockhart / Rosemont · 3 bd · 1 ba · sleeps 8 | 14 min | 12 min |
| BlueEarthHiawassee Villas / Pine Hills · 4 bd · 2 ba · sleeps 7 | 15 min | 15 min |
| Downtown & Stadium Cozy RetreatPine Hills · 3 bd · 1.5 ba · sleeps 8 | 15 min | 14 min |
| Wekiwa HomeHiawassee · 2 bd · 2 ba · sleeps 6 | 18 min | 17 min |
Typical road-routing times without traffic; Orlando rush hours add to the longer routes.
The city asks visitors at its holiday events to use SunRail, ride share, bike share, carpools or the free downtown LYMMO circulator, so on the busiest nights one ride share for the group can be easier than parking two cars. Our page on homes near Lake Eola Park has more on the park itself.
The theme parks' holiday seasons
Disney, Universal and SeaWorld all dress up for Christmas, and the dates matter, because some events end before Christmas week and others run through New Year's. Our guide to renting a house for an Orlando park trip covers tickets, tolls and park-day routines, so this section sticks to the holiday events.
Walt Disney World
Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party runs on select nights at Magic Kingdom from November 8 to December 22, 2026, from 7 p.m., with entry as early as 4 p.m. on your ticket date. It has its own ticket, and the program includes a holiday parade and Minnie's Wonderful Christmastime Fireworks. December 20 and 22 are the last nights, so buy a party ticket early if your family arrives that weekend. At EPCOT, the International Festival of the Holidays runs November 27 to December 30, with Holiday Kitchens, a Holiday Cookie Stroll, storytellers around World Showcase, and the Candlelight Processional with a mass choir, an orchestra and a celebrity narrator at America Gardens Theatre. EPCOT is 25 to 30 minutes from our larger homes, and Magic Kingdom 34 to 40. Our Disney trip page has more on the drive.
Universal Orlando
Universal's holidays run November 14, 2026 to January 3, 2027, and they are part of regular park admission. Universal's Holiday Parade featuring Macy's runs nightly at Universal Studios Florida, mostly at 5:30 p.m., and ends with Santa lighting the park's tree. Grinchmas fills Seuss Landing at Islands of Adventure, Christmas in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter spans all three parks, and Epic Universe adds holiday decorations to more of its lands this year. Universal Studios is 13 to 16 minutes from our larger homes. See homes near Universal.
SeaWorld and Gaylord Palms
SeaWorld's Christmas Celebration runs on select dates from November 6 to January 4 and is included with park admission. It has Winter Wonderland on Ice, the Sesame Street Christmas Parade, meet-and-greets with Santa and Rudolph, Holiday Reflections fireworks nightly through January 1, a Kwanzaa celebration from December 26 to January 1, fireworks on New Year's Eve and a Three Kings Celebration from January 3. It is 23 to 27 minutes from our larger homes. Down in Kissimmee, ICE at Gaylord Palms Resort runs November 13 to January 3 with scenes from The Polar Express carved from ice, kept at 9 degrees, plus two-story ice slides. Bring sweaters for that one.
Bowl week at Camping World Stadium
The last week of the year is bowl week in Orlando, and both games are scheduled. The Pop-Tarts Bowl, an Atlantic Coast Conference against Big 12 matchup, kicks off Tuesday, December 29 at 5:30 p.m. on ESPN. It is the 37th edition of the game. The Citrus Bowl, an SEC against Big Ten matchup and the 81st edition, kicks off Saturday, January 2, 2027 at noon on ABC. Teams for both are picked on Sunday, December 6, and public ticket sales open after the selection. Until then, tickets are sold only through Stadium Pass packages.
Camping World Stadium is in the middle of a $400 million renovation set to finish in 2027, so its fall and winter college games are played at reduced capacity. Fewer seats means tickets for a popular matchup go fast after selection Sunday. If your family's school is in the running, decide who is going ahead of time and have someone ready to buy.
Camping World Stadium · Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0 · resized from 10599x7576
Several of our homes sit a few minutes from the stadium, so the fans in the family can go while the rest watch on TV at the house. City and Stadium Sanctuary Vibes is about 2 minutes away, Game Day Getaway about 3, Amelia’s Arena Retreat about 4, Fruit Tree Home and Meet. Play. Stay. about 6, Piedmont about 7, The Clue House and Entertainment Home about 8, and Downtown & Stadium Cozy Retreat about 11.
For a family with mixed interests, bowl week splits nicely. The fans go to the game, the rest of the family takes the afternoon for a park, the Lake Eola loop or a nap, and everyone meets back at the house for dinner and the second half on TV. For the Pop-Tarts Bowl's Tuesday evening kickoff, eat early before the fans leave or late after they return. The Citrus Bowl's noon kickoff makes an afternoon at the game, then a last family dinner at the house the night before checkout.
Our guide on where to stay for a game at Camping World Stadium and the houses near Camping World Stadium page cover parking and game-day logistics.
Magic games and the Nutcracker downtown
Two downtown traditions fill Christmas week evenings: Orlando Magic basketball at the Kia Center and Orlando Ballet's The Nutcracker at the Dr. Phillips Center.
Orlando Magic home games
The Magic's 2026-27 schedule puts five home games in the holiday stretch: Monday, December 21 against the Sacramento Kings at 7 p.m.; Wednesday, December 23 against the Charlotte Hornets at 7 p.m.; Saturday, December 26 against the Toronto Raptors at 7 p.m.; Sunday, December 27 against the Milwaukee Bucks at 6 p.m.; and Sunday, January 3 against the Memphis Grizzlies at 6 p.m. The team is on the road for New Year's, with a 3 p.m. game at Indiana on December 31 that the family can watch from the couch. Game times can move for television, so check the team schedule before you buy.
The Kia Center is about 6 minutes from Fruit Tree Home, 7 from Amelia’s Arena Retreat, 8 from Game Day Getaway and City and Stadium Sanctuary Vibes, 10 from The Clue House and Meet. Play. Stay., 11 from Entertainment Home and 12 from Piedmont. Our houses near the Kia Center page has more on game nights.
The Nutcracker
Orlando Ballet performs The Nutcracker from December 4 to 27, 2026 in Steinmetz Hall at the Dr. Phillips Center, 445 South Magnolia Avenue. The show runs 1 hour and 57 minutes with one 20-minute intermission. In Christmas week there are performances on December 20, 22, 23, 24, 26 and 27, and every 2 p.m. show in that stretch, plus the 1 p.m. show on Christmas Eve, is a family performance with relaxed re-entry and pre-show activities like crown decorating, snowflake-making, story time and face painting. Relaxed re-entry means a five-year-old who needs a break can step out and come back.
The Dr. Phillips Center is about 7 minutes from Fruit Tree Home, Game Day Getaway and Amelia’s Arena Retreat, and about 11 from The Clue House, Piedmont and Entertainment Home. See houses near the Dr. Phillips Center for the rest.
New Year's Eve with kids and grandparents
New Year's Eve with three generations means two countdowns: an early one for the kids and the grandparents, and a midnight one for whoever is still awake.
SeaWorld has already dated its celebration: it has New Year's Eve fireworks on December 31 as part of its Christmas Celebration, with its Holiday Reflections fireworks nightly through January 1. The rest of the city's New Year's lineup is usually announced in December. Based on last year, expect the Disney parks to stay open late on New Year's Eve and Universal's two original parks to stay open past midnight. Expect daytime countdowns for kids too: last year Kings Dining & Entertainment on International Drive held a Noon Year's Eve with a balloon drop, Promenade at Sunset Walk held a Happy Noon Year kids party, and Boxi Park in Lake Nona ran a family party from 4 to 8 p.m. with an early countdown. Check those venues in December for 2026 details.
Downtown, New Year's Eve has been an adult night: Midnight on Magnolia at CityArts and a Thornton Park block party with the Orange Ball Drop at midnight. Thornton Park is about 7 minutes from Fruit Tree Home and Game Day Getaway, and about 11 to 12 from Entertainment Home, The Clue House and Piedmont, so a ride share there and back is a short trip. If the grown-up siblings want to go out, the grandparents can stay at the house with the kids.
For many families the favorite New Year's Eve is at the house: a big dinner, board games, and the ball drop in Times Square on TV. Orlando is on Eastern time, so the ball comes down at midnight on your clock too. The Clue House and Piedmont have their games, Piedmont and Meet. Play. Stay. have a billiards table, and Entertainment Home and Piedmont have ping-pong. A family evening at the house with the people on your booking fits the house rules in every one of our homes. If the dog came along, keep it inside with the TV on when the neighborhood fireworks start.
Church services and quiet days for grandparents
Many families build Christmas around a service. Most Orlando churches post their 2026 Christmas schedules in early December, so here is where to look and what last year looked like.
The Cathedral of St. James, at 215 North Orange Avenue downtown, held its Christmas Vigil Masses at 4, 6 and 10 p.m. on Christmas Eve last year, and Christmas Day Masses at 7, 9 and 11 a.m., with a 1 p.m. Mass in Spanish. Expect a similar pattern in 2026. The Basilica of the National Shrine of Mary, Queen of the Universe, at 8300 Vineland Avenue, celebrates Sunday Masses at 8 a.m., 10 a.m. and noon, with Masses in Spanish, Polish and Portuguese during the weekend; check its site in December for the Christmas schedule. First Baptist Orlando, at 3000 South John Young Parkway, holds Sunday services at 8:30 a.m. with traditional music, 10 a.m. and 11:30 a.m., and a service in Spanish at 3:30 p.m.; check its site in December for Christmas services. For any church, check the schedule a week ahead and arrive early on Christmas Eve, when the evening services fill.
Quiet days matter as much as busy ones for the older relatives. Dazzling Nights at Harry P. Leu Gardens runs on select nights from November 20, 2026 to January 3, 2027, a walk of about a mile through the gardens with light displays, live music and food, with timed entry from 5:30 p.m. and a shuttle from off-site parking. Leu Gardens is 11 to 16 minutes from our larger homes. Park Avenue in Winter Park, with its shops and cafes, is 11 to 17 minutes away; see our Winter Park page. The Orlando Science Center is 8 to 14 minutes away and keeps the grandkids busy indoors.
For a full day out, Mount Dora's lakefront downtown is 40 to 47 minutes from our larger homes, and Kennedy Space Center is 71 to 75; our Kennedy Space Center day trip page has the plan. Some afternoons the favorite outing is no outing: the covered porch at Fruit Tree Home, the screened porch at Game Day Getaway, the hammock at Entertainment Home, or a book from the shelf at The Clue House.
House rules for a holiday stay
A few rules matter for a holiday stay. Here's how they work for a family Christmas.
- Everyone who sleeps at the house goes on the booking, including the cousin who joins for three nights. Visitors never stay overnight at any of our homes.
- Visitors for dinner. Two visitors at dinner is fine at most homes. A bigger gathering needs The Clue House or Piedmont; tell us first.
- Gatherings and parties. The Clue House and Piedmont allow gatherings once you have told us and we have approved them. The other homes do not allow parties or events. A Christmas dinner for the family staying in the house is part of the stay.
- Quiet hours. Downtown & Stadium Cozy Retreat keeps quiet hours from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.
- No smoking inside. None of our homes allows smoking indoors.
- Dogs. Every one of our homes welcomes pets. Add the dog to the booking and keep it off the furniture.
- The house games stay in the house. At The Clue House and Piedmont, each item is part of the game, so leave furniture and decorations where they are.
If you are planning a gathering at The Clue House or Piedmont, send us the date, the time, how many people will come and who they are, and we will confirm what works before you book. A family dinner with a few relatives from across town is the kind of gathering we hear about most at Christmas. Each home's page has its full rules, and we're glad to walk you through them.
A holiday booking checklist
Before you send us your dates, settle these with the family. It saves a round of messages and gets you the right house.
- The exact nights. Monday, December 21 through Sunday, January 3 covers Christmas, New Year's and the Citrus Bowl. Note each household's arrival and departure.
- The head count by age. Adults, teenagers, children and babies, and which households share a house if you need two.
- Who needs what bedroom. A grandparent who needs a single-level home or a nearby bathroom, a baby who needs a crib, teenagers who are happy in a bunk room.
- The big meals. Which house hosts Christmas dinner, and whether anyone from outside the booking will come. A bigger gathering points you to The Clue House or Piedmont.
- Pets. How many, so they go on the booking.
- The events you want. A party night at Magic Kingdom, a family Nutcracker, a Magic game, a bowl game. Book the house first, then buy event tickets.
- Your menu. Send it with your dates, and we'll check the kitchen gear.
- One point of contact. One person talks to us for the whole family, even if the cost is split later.
- Arrival order. Who lands first, who drives in late, and which household does the arrival stock-up.
- Flights home. Departure times on January 3, so the last morning is planned.
Then check live prices for your nights on our search page, or send the answers through the contact page.
Sources
- City of Orlando: 2026 Tree Lighting Celebration
- City of Orlando: Tree Lighting Ceremony 2025
- Pop-Tarts Bowl: Pop-Tarts Bowl returns Tuesday, Dec. 29 at 5:30 p.m. ET on ESPN
- Citrus Bowl: Citrus Bowl set for Saturday, Jan. 2 at noon ET on ABC
- Florida Citrus Sports: 2026-27 college football schedule at Camping World Stadium
- Disney Parks Blog: Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party 2026 dates and festive details
- Disney Parks Blog: 2026 EPCOT International Festival of the Holidays dates and details
- Attractions Magazine: Universal Orlando holidays 2026 dates and what's included
- SeaWorld Orlando: Christmas Celebration
- ABC Action News Tampa Bay: The Polar Express coming to ICE at Gaylord Palms
- ESPN: Orlando Magic 2026-27 schedule
- Orlando Ballet: The Nutcracker
- Visit Orlando: New Year's Eve in Orlando
- Cathedral of St. James: Christmas Mass schedule
- Basilica of the National Shrine of Mary, Queen of the Universe: Mass times
- First Baptist Orlando: John Young Parkway campus service times
- My Central Florida Family: Dazzling Nights returns to Leu Gardens for 2026
