Kentucky Christian University's Young Library The 12 Towns of Christmas Virtual Vacation

After a long trek south, you've arrived at Christmas, Florida - a small town smack between Orlando and the Kennedy Space Center!

It is the home of the Army's Fort Christmas, and the town is named for the day of their arrival in 1837. If you're interested in the military history of this area, the Fort Christmas Historical Park has great artifacts and displays which highlight the Fort's importance during the Second Seminole War. However, let's look at some of the ways Floridians do Christmas in this holiday town.

Santa and the Christmas Post Office:

People visit from all over to get their Christmas cards postmarked at the Christmas, FL Post Office. It's such a popular event that Santa will actually visit from time to time and personally stamp the packages!

World's Longest Alligator:

Apart from having many roads and streets named after iconic Christmas figures, this town is known for the most Florida thing there is...a big alligator! There is a building for the Jungle Adventures natural habitat shaped and painted to look like a 200+ foot long alligator, and its name is Swampy.

Watch the video below if you want to see some gator feeding and go for a swamp cruise!

Ready for a quick tour of Christmas, Florida? Here ya go:

Cuban-Style Flan

Florida, especially South Florida, is known for its vibrant Cuban culture. This is expressed most strongly in their cuisine. If you've ever been to a local pastry shop or restaurant, you've probably had this luxurious dessert, so it's no surprise it's Florida's go-to Christmas recipe. If you haven't tried it before, I encourage you to try this food.com recipe out!

Yield: 10 servings

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon water
• 1 whole egg
• 5 egg yolks
• 1 12oz can evaporated milk
• 1 14oz can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

• Caramel: Some people like to make caramel by adding water to sugar and then cooking it to a nice dark golden brown, and some just like to melt the sugar to golden without water. Either method will work here. If you are using a flanera, which is a metal pan with a lock-down lid, you can make the caramel right in the flanera. If you are using a casserole dish, make the caramel in a saucepan and pour into the bottom of the casserole dish.
• Custard: As you prepare the custard, the caramel will cool. In a separate bowl, beat the 1 whole egg and 5 egg yolks together. A whisk works very well here. Add the evaporated milk and sweetened condensed milk to the eggs and mix together. Add the vanilla extract, either 1/2 teaspoon or 1 teaspoon depending on what strength you prefer. Pour the custard mixture into the flanera or casserole dish over the hardened caramel. Put on the lid.
• Put your flan into the ovenproof dish or baking pan and fill with hot water to about half-way up the sides, or as high as you can go and still move the thing without spilling hot water on yourself.
• Bake in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for 45 minutes. Turn off the oven and let set for another 15 minutes.
• Remove from the oven and the water-bath and let cool.
• Plating: Run a butter-knife around the outside edge of the flan. Place a plate large enough to handle the liquid caramel over the flan and invert. Chill the flan for at least an hour before serving.

If hanging out with the gators isn't your ideal way to spend Christmas, let's head Northwest to one of the most popular Christmas towns in the country - Santa Claus, Indiana.