Key West is such a festive little island. Many people have their house decorated with lights, inflatable snow people Santas, sleighs and trains—the day after Thanksgiving. The Tree of Hope Lighting Ceremony always kicks of the season as it commemorate those who have been lost to AIDS and coincides with World AIDS Day, December 1st.

Today is the Key West Annual Holiday Parade and rumor has it the Santa has arrived on the island with Mrs.Claus to join in the fun. There are loads of holiday concerts and lots of activities throughout the month at the Key West Bight. Cayo Carnival benefiting Reef Relief is being held with many wonderful events on December 11th and 12th and, one of my personal favorites, is the Lighted Boat Parade on the evening of the 12th. My friend Lenore Troia is doing her annual Mistletoe Madness concert upstairs at La-te-Da in the Crystal Room on the 14th. It is always great fun and great music. And on the 18th, the city allows us free parking at meters for the holidays. YAHOO!

I love this time of year even though we have snow (I grew up in Sault Ste. Marie) we celebrate to the max so be sure to keep your eye on the calendar, updated daily, for all the wonderful events this month.

Ginger King is a Broker Associate in Schwartz Property Sales in Key West. She has long been involved in helping her island community and to bring the best of “Sharing and Caring” possible to make Key West & the Florida Keys the magical place it is to live. For more information about Ginger, visit www.gingerkingkeywest.com