Coastal Christmas Tree // Trimming Your Nautical Tree

If you saw my last post about DIY Nautical Rope Knot Garland, you’re well aware of my nautical decor obsession. I like to pretend that I’m going coastal with my decor this Christmas because it’s my first year living by the beach, but realistically I’d probably have a nautical themed coastal Christmas tree regardless of where I live.

I feel the need to clarify that this tree is six feet tall and fake, and was $27 on sale at Target. I also feel the need to clarify that I went into Target planning on getting a three foot tree, and left with this one. Whoops. I got these beautiful bulb lights at Target, and to be honest with you, they’ve given me a lot of trouble as far as burning out so I don’t think I can fully recommend them (even though I love how they look). I made my nautical knot rope garland using this method, and wrapped/draped it on the tree before putting the ornaments on.

Of course, no coastal Christmas tree is complete without nautical themed ornaments. Coastal Christmas tree decor isn’t always easy to find, but it’s definitely out there if you look hard enough. Since I unfortunately don’t have close access to a Hobby Lobby (*tear*) I got most of my ornaments at Target, HomeGoods and Michael’s Craft Store. The little round ornament assortment is from Target and they are shatterproof, which has been pretty much a life saver with my huge dog around. Needless to say, I highly recommend these!

An assortment of different sizes, shapes, colors and styles is what really gives the coastal Christmas tree (or any Christmas tree, really) a cohesive themed look. I went with some natural rope ornaments, sparkly elegant ornaments, and then threw in some sea creatures such as dolphins and whales because they were too cute to resist. My personal favorite is hands down the little Narwhal dude I found at Target, for obvious reasons such as saying “byeeeee buddy” in my head every time I look at my tree. If you don’t get that reference, you need to watch Elf again ASAP.

In order to make sure all of the ornaments flow and balance each other out, I decided to start with the biggest ornaments and work my way down to the smaller multi-colored balls. Therefore, I started with the big rope ball ornaments and tried to space them all out evenly. Next, I staggered the elegant ornaments and then the sea creatures, making sure to take a step back once in a while to check the balance. To fill in the empty spots, I placed the smaller multi-colored ornaments all over. Voila! My coastal Christmas tree.

But wait! Creating the bow for the top was a whole other process. If you’re going to make a bow for the top of your tree, I HIGHLY recommend choosing a ribbon with wire in it so that it’ll be perky and stay where you want it to. I made the mistake of choosing a ribbon without wire, because I like to make things difficult. I tried to make a really fancy big bow, but ultimately created this bow by tying three normal bows (like you would tie on your shoe) and then wrapping it in the middle. When in doubt, make shit up.. Or buy ribbon with wire and make your life easier.