TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin Christmas at Flamingo beach resort

Can you tell me what goes on during Christmas time. I'm not use to being away from family at Christmas. Do they have decorated trees, Christmas music etc? Or is it just another day in the Caribbean?

Well I can tell you this.. Most stores and many restaurants are closed on Christmas day AND the day after which is Boxing Day. Many restaurants are also closed on Christmas Eve.

I'm not sure if your question has to do with just Flamingo or on the island in general. I've never been at Flamingo at Christmas time, but I will 'assume' that they will have tree in the reception area, etc. Christmas in general is a big deal in SXM, yes, the same as in the US. There are lots of decorations around, there are live trees available on the island, yes. Your individual room will not be decorated, so you may want to bring along a little tiny tree or other cheap Christmas decorations for your room, just for fun. There is a house over on the French side which is decorated to the hilt, which you should go over and see, as it is great fun. Not sure if they still do it or not, but they also used to sing Christmas carols on Christmas Eve at Mary's Boon! One thing regarding the time between Christmas and New Year's--it is the BUSIEST time of year for restaurant reservations. If you want to eat at a high end restaurant that week, you MUST make reservations, and likely you will need to make them from home. This is the only time of year that this would be the case. Traffic is also about the worst of any time of year.

Hi. I went ahead and changed this to it's own thread, so you can get more input regarding Christmas in general.

We have been on Island Christmas day. Very quiet for the most part. Locals are home with family. Probably more commotion before the day. As for flamingo? Not sure if they have there own festivities, but the Island is very quiet. And not surprising, as Christmas day is for family. Hope you enjoy the day.

Yes, Flamingo decorates for Christmas in the lobby area and there are many folks who own timeshares over the Christmas week and they decorate their balconies. I just love hearing Christmas on the steel drums - the restaurant on site at Flamingo (used to be Topper's but now is Pelican Grill) has steel drum players one night a week - I think Thursdays - which is fun.

Topper's (on Welfare Rd) always has a Christmas feast with roast beef, turkey, all the sides, dessert and wine at a pretty reasonable price - I think this past year it was around $30 per person (maybe it was $39 but still worth the price).

What is Boxing Day?

9 fo our last 10 trips have been at Christmas. Last Christmas we spent our vacation at Club O beach and it wasn't that busy. We didn't have to pay on Christmas day not because it was a holiday but because they were understaffed--the guy never came around to collect. I don't think there was anything Christmas related happening there but I just visited the beach so I really don't know. Most restaurants in orient village were open for Christmas dinner.
Christmas music on steel drums is awesome. We loved hearing it at the airport upon arrival.
The house on the french side that Carol mentioned is great too.

Boxing Day is December 26 and is observed in many countries - the meaning of the term is varied - some say it is the time to "box up" the Christmas decorations while others say it is when tradesmen came around to collect boxes of money or gifts for the good work they had done all year. It's a pretty quiet day on SXM but you'll find some restaurants and bars that are open!

Boxing Day
https://www.thespruce.com/what-is-boxing-day-435060

The greatest majority of the island residents are Christians, and therefore Christmas is celebrated there just as it is in the US. Christmas lights are strung across the streets in Marigot, and there's a house near the road to Friars that's lit up to the hilt; always fun to see that. We've never been there on Christmas Day itself, but the lights and decorations go up right after Thanksgiving, again, just like here at home. I always get a kick out of the smell of the fresh Christmas trees when they start selling them in front of Market Garden. It seems strange to have all of that in the tropical climate, but it's there! And yes, Christmas music playing on the radio and in many restaurants and stores.

got everything but snow...

Christmas in the Caribbean

We were at Beachside Villas a couple of years ago at Christmas and we brought down a string of lights that we put up on our balcony, which was great fun. We also brought down some very small Christmas decorations for the table, which made the room look so festive! We also made



Santa hat brownies and gave them out to the staff at the resort. I think they enjoyed them as much as we did!

How fun! Now I want a brownie...

Me, too - they are adorable and I bet they're delicious, too. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" />

There's nothing to them. Just make a brownie mix or your favorite recipe. Cut in squares, place a strawberry on each square and pipe icing or whipped cream around the strawberry! I can't really take credit for the idea, as this was first posted here by caribbeanscout.

Instead of piping the frosting or whipped cream around the strawberry edge couldn't you just put a dollip on top of the brownie and set the strawberry on top?

Appearance!!!

Thanks for the info on Boxing Day. Who knew....I have Irish heritage but had never heard of this. Hubby will be a little disappointed that it's not sports related <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Wink.gif" alt="" />

<img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Joy.gif" alt="" />