Coastal Christmas Decor

Our first Christmas living at the beach meant making some adjustments to the Christmas décor! What was once mostly reds would now transition to blues and greens. The result is Coastal Christmas decor merging all things Christmas with all things beach (shells, sea life, and sand). Instead of breaking the bank and buying all new decorations, I mostly worked with what I had. So, if you live at the beach, or just want to feel like you do, here are some fun ideas.

The Christmas Tree Goes Coastal

The logical place to start is with the center of Christmas decor- the tree! There was no way I would replace all of my sentimental ornaments collected throughout the year and I still wanted to keep my mini frames with pictures from past Christmas years. My large collection of Santa ornaments (primarily red) would also need to find a way to blend. The goal was to move away from the classic colors of red and green and introduce the coastal colors of blue, teal, and gold. With the help of a couple of cans of spray paint, I went to work.

Tree before

Coastal Christmas Tree

Nothing a little spray paint can't fix...

1. Berry garland goes from red to gold...

2. Tree sticks from red to teal, jingle balls from red to navy...

3. Frames from classic to bright...

4. Around the bottom of the tree

Our sweet mischievous puppy was immediately interested in the tree, so setting a couple of things at the base seemed to deter her for the most part. Again spray paint came in handy to change the truck from red to blue, and the wooden gift from red to teal.

5. Introduction of coastal themed ornaments...

Make your own Santa ornaments out of oyster shells

After finding oyster shells in all different shapes and colors, I simply painted hats, beards, and cheery faces! Acrylic paint or markers work the best.

Coastal Christmas Garland

I reused the garland from last year but made some minor adjustments. Removing the red berries and adding sprigs of spray painted blue and teal berries changed the entire look. Adding a couple starfish and coastal ornaments completed the vision. This year we even have a real fireplace for Santa to come down!

Garland Before

Coastal Christmas Garland

Stairway Coastal Christmas Decor

We have a stairway again and a plant shelf so I really wanted to have a tree with lights at the top. I kept this one simple with blue balls, straw stars (my mom made years ago), and of course shells! It created Christmas light at the top of the landing and carried the coastal Christmas theme to the 2nd floor. All that was missing was greenery on the stairs themselves. Instead of buying all new garland, I upcycled a garland that I already had and turned it into 4 hanging swags. Click on the link below to see how:

Other Coastal Christmas Decor

Coastal Christmas spread to other rooms in the house with table top or shelf displays. From the entry way to the kitchen to the dining room centerpiece there are lots of ways to introduce classic Christmas with touches of beach life. My poor little Santa gnome did not make it through the move, so I found a way to recycle him and give him a beachy burlap hat. Just adding shells helped incorporate some of my favorite Santa figurines into the new look.

Santa before

Santa turned coastal

Kitchen wreath hanging above the cabinets covers what is normally artwork.

Gnomes and small table top tree on kitchen counter.

Tray that sits on the entry hall table.

DIY shell tree on kitchen counter.

Front Door Coastal Christmas

The front door is the first impression of the coastal Christmas theme. I made alterations to the gnome tree with a fun Target elf hat and painted his mittens blue. I created my very own DIY front door wreath in a couple of easy steps. To see how to make the wreath:

Coastal Christmas Decor