Ocean Beach’s Christmas Trees Bonfire

Once a year, shortly after the New Year’s, Ocean Beach is a giant bonfire scene when hundreds of dried out and miserable Christmas trees get burned at sun down and light up the dark winter night.

Across from the Beach Chalet restaurant, that’s where you’ll find them next year. Third Saturday in January or so. Last year we weren’t ready so we didn’t save our tree. This year we knew and came with our two trees. The bonfire is organized by our friend Sue’s cousins. You won’t see any posts around town or on Yelp! about it. It’s family-style and confidential yet this year there were offsprings of the original Christmas tree bonfire next to us. OK, they’re not quite up to the standard of Sue’s cousins.

Sue’s cousins are organized. They put together an impressive kitchen on the beach where they cook a Cioppino, a big seafood stew with bring-what-you-can seafood bits in it. Quite tasty in fact. In the parking lot, there’s a U-Haul truck full of Christmas trees, in case we didn’t bring enough of them. But the best part is for the kids. I dressed mine in ski overalls this year. If you’re going to jump around in pine trees and in the cold sand at night, you might as well do it safely. Great fun for all ages!