Surfing Santas Picnic
Surfing Santas Picnic
Living in a warm, beach climate can be weird during the holidays. I’ve been in Florida for almost two decades, and I’m still adjusting to the seasons, or lack thereof. I decided long ago not to fight it and instead go with the funky beach vibes in my own way. One of my favorite events during this time of year is Surfing Santas. Tons of people crowd our beaches to take part or watch surfers dressed up in their Santa attire and take to the waves. How fun would it be to have a holiday picnic with Surfing Santas as the view? Either way, these red-striped nautical vibes are perfect for any festive-styled picnic!
The Essentials
The red striped beach blanket, picnic table, and umbrella are all from Business & Pleasure’s Sirenuse collection. I use this little table all the time, it’s lightweight, foldable, and features wine glass holders for four! The chairs are from Serena & Lily, and I love that they are made of white canvas because they can complement all of my seasonal color palettes. The wine glasses are plastic, and they’ve held up for years! You can find those on Amazon here. Remember to keep glass off the beach and reduce single-use plastics, yay!
I made these personalized embroidered napkins for the family this year, and I LOVE them. They also make great gifts, and I’m certain we will cherish them forever in the collection. I found the coastal animals embroidery files on this Etsy shop.
The plates are made of melamine from BSEID, perfect for your beach or home holiday collection, featuring a deep red rim. They might be melamine, but they are heavyweight!
What To Wear!
You’re in Florida, you can wear a bikini! I love this red striped swimsuit from J. Crew this time of year, and I pair it with my favorite Anthropologie lobster cardigan.
Snowman Cheesball Appetizer
Makes 4 Snowmen
Ingredients:
- 8 oz cream cheese
- 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- white sesame seeds for coating
- pretzel sticks for the arms and support.
- whole black peppercorn for the eyes and buttons
- carrot slivers for the nose
Directions:
- In a small bowl, combine the cream cheese, shredded cheddar cheese, Worcestershire sauce, oregano, and garlic powder. Divide and shape into 4 larger balls and 4 smaller balls, and roll each in the sesame seeds to coat.
- Assemble a small ball on top of a large ball using a pretzel stick to secure and decorate with the remaining snowman decor ingredients.
- Repeat for all four snowmen and refrigerate until ready to serve with charcuterie pairings.
You can find these glass toppers here!
A Crabby Course
For dinner, I made a crab bisque recipe, which I found on Evolving Table! And paired it with a loaf of Crabby-Coccia. I used a leftover pizza dough I had in the refrigerator and topped it with vine-ripened tomato slices and halved cherry tomatoes to create little crabs. You can find my recipe for pizza dough here! Transporting soup isn’t hard if you have the right vessel. I like to use a stainless steel thermos to keep it hot and secure.
A Very Floridian Dessert
For dessert, I wanted something that was quintessentially Floridian. And what’s more Floridian than Key Lime Pie!? To make the individual Santas, I froze the pie before using a round cookie cutter to cut individual-sized circular pies. I topped them with one de-stemmed, upside-down strawberry and decorated them with whipped cream for the beard and hat pom-pom. I used a star tip on a piping bag to get the whipped cream texture here. Finally, I used mini chocolate morsels for the eyes.
Happy Holidays from Florida!
