Stay safe and enjoy the winter holidays

This year, New Year's Day will be observed on Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025. Before celebrating the holidays with your loved ones, check out our Holiday Guide to learn which County services will be affected, find fun events to celebrate the holiday season, read tips to ensure your holidays are celebrated safely and find ways to give back to your community.

Services

• Miami-Dade County offices will be closed Wednesday Jan. 1, 2025
• Transportation and Public Works will operate on the following schedule:
  • On New Year's Eve,  Metromover and Metrorail will operate extended service until 2 a.m., with Green and Orange Line trains running every 30 minutes. Metrobus, MetroConnect and MetroLink will operate on a regular weekday schedule
  • On Wednesday, Jan. 1, Metrorail and Metromover will operate on a regular weekend schedule. Metrobus and MetroConnect will operate on a Sunday schedule
• Solid Waste Management garbage, bulky trash and recycling services will operate as scheduled on Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025
• Miami-Dade Public Libraries will be closed Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025 
• Parks are open regular hours "sunrise to sunset" but all park offices are closed Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025.  Fireworks are not allowed in parks for the safety of our parks environment and the public.
• Animal Services' Administrative Offices and the Pet Adoption and Protection Center (PAPC) will be closed on Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025. After the holiday closure, the PAPC will resume regular operational hours Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025. 

Events

• Historic Holiday Décor: Caroling through the Season
  Visitors can tour the historic houses of Deering Estate as they come alive with holiday accents and decorations that will transport visitors to the whimsical world of Lewis Carroll. The Historic Holiday Décor is displayed daily at 10 a.m. through Jan. 7.
• Holiday events at Miami-Dade Libraries
  Search for fun, festive and family-friendly events hosted at local libraries across Miami-Dade County.
• Adoption fees waived in December
  Animal Services encourages residents to experience the lifelong love and joy of pet parenthood by adopting a shelter pet this holiday season. This December, adoption fees at the Pet Adoption and Protection Center and satellite adoption centers are waived for pets over 4 months old.
• The NightGarden at Fairchild Botanical Garden
  Enjoy the cool Miami winter nights at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden's NightGarden to explore a combination of lighting effects, state-of-the-art holographic technology, projection mapping, music and more.
• Register your kids for winter camps
  Winter camps run through Jan. 3, 2025. Choose from dozens of general camp locations or specialty camps based on your child's interest. Registration is required.
• Zoo Lights
  Take in over a million dazzling tree lights and joyous holiday spirit as Zoo Miami hosts Zoo Lights on select nights through Dec. 30. Each night hosts a special theme.

Safety Tips

• If you're cooking at home, pouring oil down the drain can cause messy, costly sewage backups and system-wide clogged pipes. Remember to can the grease
• Check out some more cooking safety tips to make sure your holiday dinner goes off without a hitch
• Learn about the proper ways businesses should handle and dispose of fat, oil and grease
• The holidays shouldn't be a pain. Learn more about general holiday safety tips to make sure you stay safe in all aspects of the holiday season
• Each year more than 10,000 fireworks-related injuries are treated in emergency rooms across the United States. Check out some tips to enjoy fireworks safely
• One of the nation's busiest and most dangerous times to drive is the holiday season between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day. Check out some driving safety tips
• If you're traveling during the holidays, learn how to better prepare for your adventure with these safety travel tips

Giving Back

• United Way of Miami-Dade
  Make a tax-deductible donation to the services that matter most to you. Celebrate the spirit of the holiday by giving back to your community through a donation to United Way of Miami-Dade County.
• Presents for Pets Holiday Donation Drive
  The Miami-Dade County Animal Services Department has launched the third annual Presents for Pets holiday drive for shelter pets in partnership with the Miami-Dade Public Library System. Share the warmth of the holiday season by picking up a present for a shelter pet as they wait for their forever home. The donation drive runs through Dec. 31.
• Animal Services Foster Parent Program
  Have you ever considered fostering a dog or cat in need of a home? Fostering adoptable animals to live in a temporary home allows more space at the shelter, giving more homeless pets a second chance at a new life.