This Island Is One of the Best Places to Celebrate Christmas in the South-With Palm Trees, Beaches, and Holiday Festivities

"An Olde Tybee Christmas looks something like this: palm trees covered with twinkling Christmas lights, golf carts sporting wreathes, lights, and bows, and a calendar of events where locals turn up in a merry mishmash of Santa hats, Christmas sweaters, and flip-flops. And since Tybee Island is known for its wide, sandy beaches, the holidays naturally revolve around the shoreline, with locals inserting plenty of beach time into their Christmas traditions."

"The island's take on holiday fun begins with the Annual Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony on Dec. 1. You can join island residents and visitors for a fun evening centered around the lighting of the town Christmas tree near the roundabout on Tybrisa Street, which ends steps from the ocean and leads to the scenic Tybee Beach Pier. Next is the Annual Christmas Parade of Lights on Dec. 12."

Tybee Island celebrates a beach-oriented Olde Tybee Christmas with palm trees strung in lights, decorated golf carts, and residents wearing Santa hats, Christmas sweaters, and flip-flops. Holiday events center on the shoreline and include a Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony on Dec. 1 by the Tybrisa Street roundabout near Tybee Beach Pier, a Christmas Parade of Lights on Dec. 12 that runs through decorated streets with a beachside Santa, and a Holiday Market on Dec. 13 featuring local vendors, live music, kids' activities, and handmade gifts. The season typically concludes with island-wide New Year's Eve fireworks and a Jan. 1 polar plunge from the pier.

Read at Travel + Leisure