I know nothing about Florida (but if you want to know anything about Montana just let me know) and am hoping for some recommendations for a Christmas 2019 beach vacation for a family of 10, 6 adults, 4 teens. Wish list: ocean/gulf front, condo with pool that might have some activities for the kids / place for grandma to hang out and people watch while everyone else is golfing and doing other activities. Is it possible to swim in the ocean in December? Just beginning to explore possibilities for this trip so any guidance appreciated.

I live in Fort Lauderdale; does it absolutely have to be In Florida? For ocean swimming you are going to want to be as far south as possible IMO.

Before we moved to Florida, we would visit my MIL over Christmas and spent quite a bit of beach time. She lived in North Port (Gulf side, just north of Port Charlotte). Now that we've lived here for years, we've acclimated and think it's too cold. Of course, it's all relative - when we go visiting family in the Palm Beach area (we live in Central Florida, farther north), it feels like summer in January.

However, I think you would be fine. The Gulf would be warmer than the Atlantic, and of course the farther south, the better (south of Tampa).

The Gulf is considerably more shallow than the Atlantic. I still think if swimming is the biggest priority you might want to be even further south.

We travelled from New England to Ft. Myers, Florida to visit the folks for many years. There were always a few days that we went to the beach and swam in the gulf even though the locals thought it was "too cold".

I would look from Ft. Myers south, Sanibel, Pine Island, Ft.Myers Beach, Bonita beach, Naples, Marco Island, etc. There are plenty of places that will meet your wish list. Fishing, boating, kayaking, paddleboarding, etc. for the kids, beautiful beaches, condos, motels, hotels on/close to the beaches. An in the larger cities, museums, shopping, Do expect to have some traffic in the more well known areas as others are looking for the same things you are.

No, doesn't have to be Florida necessarily. The family is traveling from NY and Texas so we want to find something in between.

I agree with the rec for someplace like Sanibel (hopefully there won't be any dead fish on the beach). The place is quiet, and I do mean quiet and peaceful; Captiva even more so. It really is wonderful

My vote is for Sanibel/Captiva, particularly Captiva. I live on Florida's central west coast, and there are usually people in the Gulf over the holidays, but occasionally we have really cold weather. Captiva is further south, also has pools and kids' activities.

BTW, where we live "really cold" means 50 degrees for a couple of hours OVERNIGHT