Unfortunately, I think it's pretty unlikely that you're going to be seeing fares drop for the Christmas period. This is mainly b/c the booking curve has shifted out compared to previous years as people locked in flights earlier than they might have ordinarily due to the rising fare environment. As a result, airlines sold out the lower fare classes earlier than in previous years, and can now afford to charge a premium for the seats that are left. For a popular route like NYC-Florida, I don't think the airlines anticipate having trouble filing the seats that are left around Christmas (especially in light of the capacity reductions), so if it was me I'd bite the bullet now. In fact, I booked my PDX-SRQ flight for xmas three months ago and I am VERY happy I did. Best of luck finding something reasonably priced!