Christmas and Hannakuh 2017: Holiday Happenings Around Miami

MIAMI, FL — With the 2017 holiday season upon us, we found a sleigh full of Christmas and Hannakuh happenings around the Miami area. These range from holiday events to greetings of the season. We will be updating our post throughout the holidays so check back often.

Here are some of the holiday events and posts we found on social media around the Miami area:

MIAMI-DADE

Breakfast with Santa
Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill & Bar locations in Doral, Coral Springs, Cutler Ridge, Hialeah, Margate, Pembroke Pines and Sawgrass held their annual Breakfast with Santa fundraisers on Saturday, Dec. 16. The events were intended to support the U.S. Marines Corps Toys for Tots program, now in its 70th year.

Guests enjoyed breakfast compliments of Applebee’s along with other goodies, raffle tickets for door prizes and the opportunity to take a photo with Santa Claus. Applebee’s raised additional funds by selling paper “gift tags," which are displayed in the restaurants. All of the proceeds were donated to the U.S. Marine Corps Toys for Tots program for local families.

CORAL GABLES

District 6 Toy Giveaway

Miami-Dade School Board Member Mari Tere Rojas hosted a toy giveaway on Dec. 16 at Coral Gables Preparatory Academy for needy families in District 6. Rojas provided toys to children chosen by District 6 schools. Their families enjoyed a holiday breakfast, door prizes and pictures with Santa.

“This event allowed us to bring smiles to the faces of needy children from District 6 schools," Rojas explained. "For many children, these are the only toys they will receive during the holidays, and this may be their only opportunity to meet and greet Santa Claus. This was truly a community effort and I thank everyone who made this possible."

MIAMI

Miami Police Shop With A Cop
On Dec. 20, the Miami Police Department in conjunction with Target will host the department's annual “Shop with a Cop” event.

Miami Police personnel will be spreading holiday cheer this season by shopping alongside 94 deserving children from the community. Participants were nominated to participate in the program and will each be given a $100 gift card that will allow them to purchase Christmas gifts.

The shopping spree is set to commence at 8 a.m. and conclude at 3 p.m. It will take place at Target-Midtown, located at 3401 N. Miami Avenue.

Toy Giveaway at Duarte Park

One thousand toys were given away on Dec. 16 at Juan Pablo Duarte Park (2800 NW 17th Ave) in a fun-filled event for the whole family featuring entertainment, food, drinks, and pictures with Santa and his Elves!

Christmas At Frost Science
Miami's interactive science museum will be open on Christmas Day from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. with a holiday parking gift for visitors who park in the museum garage.

For kids looking for a week of fun, Frost Science will be offering a Winter Break Camp. Campers in grades K-5 will kick off the new year with amazing experiments, discoveries and investigations during the week-long camp session from Jan. 2-5. For information and pricing, visit frostscience.org/wintercamp.

Frost Science visitors can enjoy their first hour of parking at the onsite parking garage FREE on Christmas day and other dates around the holidays. Members of Frost Science or PAMM will receive a double parking bonus with validation at front desk for a total of two free hours free from Tuesday, Dec. 19 to Monday, Jan. 1 based on availability.

MIAMI BEACH

Christmas Carols On Lincoln Road

Escaping to Miami Beach for the holidays doesn’t mean missing out on some of the season’s best traditions. On Dec. 21 at 7 p.m., visitors and locals sang Christmas carols at Lincoln Road Mall, stretching from Washington Avenue to Alton Road. The night ended with an after party at the National Hotel with festive drinks, tapas specials and live music.

Great Russian Nutcracker

Take the entire family to the world-renowned Moscow Ballet and their performance of the Great Russian Nutcracker at The Fillmore Miami Beach. A special matinee will take place on Dec. 30 a 3 p.m.featuring life-sized puppets and nesting dolls to bring the holidays to life. Tickets are available online now at www.filmoremb.com.

Massage Special at The Palms Hotel & Spa
If the holidays wear you out, consider booking a stress relief massage. The spa is offering a special offer throughout December. Spa guests who purchase any 50-minute treatment will receive 50 percent off the second treatment.

Miami Beach Police Department Toy Giveaway

Santa Claus arrived early this year when the Miami Beach Police Department handed out gifts to more than 450 community children. The event took place on Saturday, Dec. 16.

The gifts were made possible by donations to the Miami Beach Police Relief Fund. The annual tradition began in 1982.

For many children, the event may provide the only toy they receive this season.

This year, Miami Beach police also received a $10,000 grant under Target’s “Heroes and Helpers” program to purchase toys.

In addition to new toys, the children also enjoyed face painting, popcorn, music from a DJ, and a special performance by In Blue, an all police band.

CORAL GABLES

PALMETTO BAY

Chanukah Celebration

Chabad of Palmetto Bay held a community Chanukah celebration on Dec. 17.

With a spectacular magic show and rock climbing wall, the free event also featured doughnuts, latkes. fidget dreidels and Chanukah slime.

Mayor Eugene Flinn joined Rabbi Zalman Gansburg for The Grand Menorah Lighting. Visit www.JewishPalmettoBay.org.

PINECREST

HOLLYWOOD

Hollywood Police Shop With A Cop
Twenty-five students from Hollywood schools were chosen by their School Resource Officer (SRO) to participate in this year’s “Shop With A Cop” with the Hollywood Police Department and Walmart on Dec. 19. This is the second consecutive year the department has partnered with Walmart, who also provided funding for this year’s program through its Walmart Community Grant program.

Armed with $100 gift cards, the children get to shop for holiday gifts and toys for themselves and their families. Each child is paired with an officer who spends the evening with them while they shop and fill their Christmas wishes.

The program is offered to Hollywood students ages 5 to 18. The students will be escorted to the front door of Walmart in a patrol vehicle, and then spend the evening with the officer purchasing gifts. Additional volunteers from the Hollywood Police Department will wrap the gifts for the children.

DAVIE

Miami Dolphins Annual Holiday Toy Event

The Miami Dolphins hosted 125 school students for their annual holiday toy event on Dec. 19. The event was presented by Petland and held at the team's training facility in Davie. Players Matt Haack, Tony Lippett, Drew Morgan, Cody Parkey, Kenny Stills, Vincent Taylor and Sam Young all showed their holiday spirit. They were joined by cheerleaders Alexandra, Holly, Katie, Kelly, Tamara and Vera, mascot T.D. and the Miami Dolphins Women’s Organization.

The kids were invited from Charles D. Wyche Elementary, H.L. Watkins Middle School, Lauderhill Paul Turner Elementary School, Orchid Villa Elementary School and Riverland Elementary School. Each child received holiday toys and got to participate in a number of fun activities like creating stuffed animals, and decorating sugar cookies. There were inflatable bounce houses and slides, a photo booth to take pictures with Santa, cornhole games and of course the old Christmas favorite — tossing around the football with a real life Miami Dolphin.

“I’m having a great time here. My favorite thing has been the cookies and I got to make a stuffed dolphin with the players,” Jorge from Charles D. Whyche Elementary said. “I hope all of the other kids are having as good a time as me.”

All of the holiday toys were purchased by Miami Dolphin players and coaches in a decades-old tradition. More than 1,000 children from Dolphin partner schools have participated over the years from Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties.

“Being able to come out here and toss the football with these kids is just a blessing,” Dolphins defensive tackle Vincent Taylor explained. “It’s always good to be able to do stuff like this because some people are not fortunate enough to have a good Christmas, so it’s a blessing to be able to give back and share what I have with these kids.”

Photo courtesy city of Miami Beach