🔐 River City Guide: Sneak in some local events before Santa arrives!

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Santa will be heading to Northeast Florida and Southeast Georgia soon!

Related: Here are the best Christmas light displays & events around Northeast Florida 🎅 | News4JAX Insiders share holiday photos on SnapJAX

That’s right — the countdown to Christmas is on!

If you need a last-minute burst of holiday spirit, check out these fun events around the area from Dec. 22 - Dec. 24. ⬇️

Holiday happenings... 🎄📅

Looking for something fun for the family this weekend? We’ve got some highlights below:

• Gingerbread Extravaganza: The traditional gingerbread exhibit at Old St. Andrew’s Church runs through Dec. 27 (closed Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. More info
• Candlelight Concert: The multi-sensory holiday musical experience features “The Nutcracker” and more on Friday. Tickets and more info
• Santa Special Christmas Train: Take a magical 70-minute journey by rail with Santa and his delightful friends Friday and Saturday at Kingsland Station. Tickets and more info
• Colors of the Wild: The Holiday Nights Asian Lanterns event runs through Christmas Eve at the Jacksonville Zoo & Gardens. Tickets and more info
• Holiday Trains: The Toy Train Collectors of Jacksonville will host a limited-run motorized holiday train display at the Museum of Science and History through Dec. 31 (closed Christmas Eve and Christmas Day). More info
• Vilano Christmas Village: On Saturday Cirque Adventure will put on a very special Elf Circus at Vilano Road from 1-1:30 p.m., 2-2:30 p.m., and 3-3:30 p.m. More info
• For more ideas for fun weekend activities, take a look at our Community Calendar. Have an event you want added to our list? Enter it here!

Santa Tracker 🎄🦌

News4Jax is tracking Santa on Christmas Eve!🎅 Tune in and show the kids!

Santaaaaa! 🎅 The Weather Authority will track Santa on Christmas Eve with the help of satellites, military sensors, and technology from North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD).

It’s a long-standing tradition at News4Jax, beginning decades ago with George Winterling tracking Santa’s location using satellites and updates from NORAD.

We use an infrared satellite to sense the heat given off from Rudolph’s red nose, to give us an initial idea of where Santa and his sleigh are. Click here for more information!

Happy Holidays, Insiders ⛄▶️

Our News4JAX team wants to wish our Insiders and their families Happy Holidays!

Press the play button above to watch a special thank you video — and behind-the-scenes look at our newsroom — from our entire crew!

Holiday photos on SnapJAX 📸

The best way to spread Christmas cheer is... uploading your content to SnapJAX so we can share it with others! We want to show off some of our News4JAX Insiders’ holiday spirit! Be sure to upload your photos here! They could be featured on-air, online, and on News4JAX.com.

We want to see all your photos from this weekend! Be sure to upload your photos on SnapJAX!

Did we miss an event? Let us know below.