Hang your special ornament on the official Ocean Lakes Christmas tree

There are the traditional glass bells with hand-painted greetings, the handmade frames holding photos of families, a Santa playing baseball.

They’ve all graced a limb on the official Ocean Lakes Family Campground Christmas tree through the years – all carefully crafted or selected and hung on the tree by Ocean Lakes guests.

For decades, our guests have played a key role in decorating our official Christmas tree in the Recreation Center, a 12-foot live beauty.

Decorating a Christmas tree is all about family, after all, and our guests make up the Ocean Lakes family.

“It’s an Ocean Lakes family tradition,” Recreation Supervisor Rhonda Boatwright said. “The families look forward to it – it’s special.”

Our tree-trimming party is set for 6 p.m. Saturday in the Recreation Center.

Our tree-trimming party is set for 6 p.m. Saturday in the Recreation Center. This isn’t the usual tree lighting where you stand back and cheer as the lights are switched on. This is a fun, hands-on, tree-decorating party with live entertainment and snacks.

Bring your ornament to decorate the tree or just help us hang ornaments from our collection. 

The tradition of having guests bring a special ornament started in the '80s, in part to help fill up our massive tree. Our guests have embraced it through the years, crafting ornaments that still tell their stories years later: The series chronicling the engagement and first anniversary of a young couple; the matching mitten ornaments from 2006 - one bearing the name of each family member; the handmade frames, all alike, that proudly display the same family year after year for more than a decade.

“The guests are proud to put their ornaments up there,” Boatwright said. “They are always thankful for the opportunity.”

Recreation teammates sort through a box of ornaments from the early 2000s.

Pick out your special ornament and join us Saturday!