4 Ways to Bring a Nautical Flair to Your Christmas Tree

If you’re looking to decorate for the holidays in a way that incorporates your love of the water, we have some great inspiration for you today! Every year we put up a Christmas tree here at the Sailrite Headquarters and, naturally, we decorate it with a nautical flair. This year we thought we’d share with you how we bring a little sailing to our tree. These ideas can all be scaled up or down for a large tree at home or a tiny tree on your boat.

1. Use a Nautical Rope as Garland

Instead of stringing up metallic garland or ribbon this year, try using rope. We use 3/8″ Sta-Set Double Braid in red, but the green or white with green fleck are also festive choices. For a more rustic, natural look, you could use plain, manila rope too. Just start at the top and wrap it all around the tree.

2. Hang Sailboat Ornaments

What is a sailor’s Christmas tree without at least a couple of sailboat ornaments? Nautical themed ornaments like sailboats, lighthouses, anchors, and even shells are widely available and will give the perfect accent to your nautical tree. The Sailrite tree is about half decorated in various sailboats. Bonus points for a sailboat tree topper!

3. Create a Monkey’s Fist Ornament

A great nod to your rope garland and the seafaring lifestyle is to hang a monkey’s fist (or several) from your Christmas tree. This is also a really fun holiday DIY. Need help learning how to tie this iconic knot? Check out our tutorial for making these ornament-sized monkey’s fists.

4. Make a Custom Tree Skirt

We made a new tree skirt for our Sailrite tree last year and shared the tutorial right here on the blog. Ours is a festive red and white, but this is a really easy way to make your tree feel more nautical or beachy. You can use a fabric with knots, coral or even fish! In fact, we have a whole category of nautical fabrics to put the finishing touch on your tree.

To see even more holiday DIY and decorating inspiration, check out our Christmas at Sailrite board on Pinterest!

Do you have a nautically themed Christmas tree? Tell us about it in the comments or send us a photo at marketing@sailrite.com.