How to Plan a Christmas Beach Party

One of the best parts about living in the south is the favorable weather we experience all year. We prefer sand shovels over snow shovels, and that's why planning a Christmas beach party is a fun southern tradition for many. During the season for friends, family, and gatherings, it's only appropriate to come together for holiday cheer at one of the coastal south's beautiful beaches. From decorations to activities, we've created a list of essentials for planning your Christmas beach party!

Decorations:
The possibilities are endless when it comes to the decorations for your Christmas beach party. Like any good Christmas party, the decorations should be festive but with the added twist of a beachy vibe. First, you'll want to decide on a color scheme. Do you want the classic red and green? Would an elegant white, silver, and gold scheme better fit the party's aesthetic? One decoration that matches any vibe is the mason jar centerpieces. Between canning homemade preserves and sipping tasty sweet tea, most southerners have plenty of mason jars. Decide how many centerpieces you want to make and fill the mason jars with fairy lights, sea shells, and ornaments that match your color scheme. This decoration is festive, beachy, and easy, and the mason jars add a bit of southern charm!

What is a Christmas party without a tree? Incorporate the most traditional symbol of the season by setting up a Christmas tree. Whether real or fake, this will set the mood and get people into the holiday spirit. Decorate the tree with seashells, sand dollars, and other ocean treasures to match the landscape. For a fun beachy twist, decorate a palm tree! Party guests will love the innovation, and its authenticity within the setting will create a seamlessly festive decoration. In addition to Christmas trees and centerpieces, you can add coastal flavor to any Christmas decoration by adding some burlap. It goes with any color scheme and provides a classy touch in the form of ribbons, runners, and even garland!

Activities:
Think of all the activities you would do at a traditional Christmas party and add beachy elements. For example, instead of building gingerbread houses surrounded by delicious white snow, build gingerbread Christmas beach shacks with graham cracker crumb sand. Classic holiday songs about white Christmases and jingle bells can be swapped for Hawaiian Christmas tunes and steel drum classic covers.

Some things, like a gift exchange, for example, can be kept traditional. Instead of a white elephant gift exchange, it can be called a white crab gift exchange. The gist of the activity doesn't have to change, but minor tweaks in the name of the activity or its visual presentation can add beachy vibes to the Christmas party.

Food:
There's nothing like southern comfort food and a good home-cooked meal. To keep your beach Christmas party in true southern fashion and take some pressure off you as the host, consider throwing a potluck-style Christmas party. Everyone can bring a casserole or dish to share.
Another option is to have a seafood-themed meal. Though not traditional Christmas cuisine, seafood is perfect for a beach-themed Christmas party. Take it to the next level by festively dressing your hors d'oeuvres. Snowman oysters, Santa hats on the lobster, and platters arranged in the shape of a Christmas tree will be the talk of any Christmas beach party.

Merry Fishmas!