Christmas trees are a highly personal thing. Everyone seems to have strong opinions about what color lights to use, whether tinsel is acceptable or not, and of course, what goes on top of the tree? In our house, white lights were the norm, and as kids, we were so jealous of all those trees with colorful lights. However, 2020 has broken so many norms and changed life in so many ways, so we thought maybe this was a good year to bring a bit of the beach to our Christmas tree. After all, every beach lover wants more beach in their life, and why not add a little beach to your Christmas tree with these fun beach-themed ideas!

Find the perfect tree

Did you know that North Carolina is one of the largest producers of trees in the United States? Before you can decorate you need to find a high quality tree. Look for trees that are fresh. Needles should be green and not brittle. Ask when the trees were cut. Once you get the tree home, make sure to keep it well watered. If a tree dries out it will quickly begin to look dead and lifeless and drop needles.

It’s all about the colors

When we think about Christmas we usually picture reds and greens, but that won’t work for a beach themed Christmas. It’s time to step away from the traditional and get in the beach mindset. Think about your favorite Ocean Isle Beach vacation memories. Do you remember what colors were in the house you rented? Likely they were sea foam green, light blues, turquoise, coral and other softer pastel colors. These are exactly the colors that you will want to incorporate into your tree decorations.

Use beach related items in the design

It may seem obvious, but using things you find on the beach is the perfect way to add a little extra pop to your tree. As you can see in this picture, things like starfishes, shells, and sea glass all make for interesting designs.

Notice the color of the background, a perfect beach themed color, like we talked about above.

Here are a few things you can use from the beach:

Sand Dollars

Sea Glass

Shells

Driftwood

Buoys

Bobbers

Fishing Lures

Lobster and crab pots

Skate shells

The sea is the limit. Every beachcomber has that one treasured find or item he/she like to look for. Try something new and you just might be surprised how well it turns out.

Seashell Christmas lights

Seashells can be used for a lot of different crafts and decorations. One creative way to use them is to make a string of seashell Christmas lights. For this all you need is a set of LED Christmas lights. Then you will need a hot glue gun and a lot of seashells. Make sure to have the same number of shells as lights. Also it is important to have cleaned the shells, or this could get a bit sandy really fast.

Now all you need to do is hot glue the lights into the shells and bam, you have a spectacular set of seashell lights for your tree.

Rope is a great accent

Ok, ok, we know any true sailor or boater knows what landlubbers call rope is actually a line. There are several ways to use a rope. For us, we think it looks best when used as a replacement for something like a string of popcorn or ribbon. Use the rope to gently wrap around the tree and you and instantly you’ve created a nautical/beach theme.

Smaller trees and driftwood

There is something magical about driftwood. The way it has been smoothed over by the ocean. The worn look and the interesting colors. All of these make driftwood a perfect item for the tree, or even better – it can be an actual tree. From a few inches tall to large projects, don’t discount having a nontraditional tree made of drift wood.

Small ones (as shown here) are perfect craft projects to do with the kids and they make great gifts.

There has never been a better time to plan your 2021 Ocean Isle Beach vacation. We have a lot of great homes to choose from and of course, that world class customer service you’ve come to expect from Williamson Realty Vacations. Give one of our friendly reservationists a call at 800-727-9222 to book your vacation today.