The 100-foot Christmas tree that goes up every year at Old School Square is on a national ballot. USA TODAY 10Best has named Delray Beach's tree one of 20 nominees for Best Holiday Tree Display in its 2026 Readers' Choice Awards, on the same list as the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree in New York and the National Christmas Tree in Washington, D.C. Voting is open now, once a day, through the end of November.

How the nominees were picked, and how the winner is

The Delray Beach Downtown Development Authority, which owns the tree, announced the nomination on Nov. 4. USA TODAY editors and a panel of experts chose the 20 nominees. The winner is decided by readers: anyone can vote on the 10Best awards page, no account needed, and each person can vote once every 24 hours.

  • Voting closes Monday, Nov. 30, at 11:59 a.m. Eastern.
  • Winners are announced Thursday, Dec. 3, at noon Eastern.

The closing time is late morning, not midnight, so a last vote on Nov. 30 has to be in before lunch.

From 50 feet to 100

The tree dates to 1993, when the DDA bought a 50-foot tree as part of an effort to bring people back to a downtown that was struggling at the time. Two years later, for the city's centennial in 1995, it doubled to 100 feet, one foot for every year of the city's history. It is a tree you can walk into: the inside holds animated scenes from the history of the Village by the Sea.

The nomination comes after a separate 10Best result the DDA also points to: readers have voted Delray Beach the Best Beach in Florida three years running, in 2024, 2025 and 2026.

The lighting is Dec. 1

The tree is lit on Tuesday, Dec. 1, at the 100-Foot Christmas Tree Lighting and Yuletide Festival at Old School Square, 51 N. Swinton Ave. The festival runs from 6 to 9 p.m., and Santa lights the tree at 7 p.m. That is two days before the 10Best winners are named, so the tree will be lit and open to walk through when the results come in.

Santa's Holiday Village opens around it for the season, with ice skating, a carousel, mini golf and visits with Santa, and stays open through New Year's Day.

How to vote and go

Vote at the USA TODAY 10Best Best Holiday Tree Display page, once every 24 hours, until 11:59 a.m. Eastern on Monday, Nov. 30. The tree lighting is Tuesday, Dec. 1, 6 to 9 p.m., at Old School Square, 51 N. Swinton Ave., Delray Beach, with the lighting at 7 p.m. Event details are on the Downtown Delray Beach website, and the DDA can be reached at 561-243-1077.

Sources