Christmas this year marked a few firsts in my book. It’s the first Christmas I’ve spent in a tropical climate. Also the first Christmas I’ve spent away from friends and family. And the first year we didn’t throw our annual Christmas bash. As with Thanksgiving, we had numerous invites to spend the holiday with friends and generous strangers, but this year I wanted Christmas all to myself (another first). No friends, no family, no gifts. Just me, my husband, my dog, and a Christmas feast!

What do you do for Christmas when you live on a tropical island? Go to the beach, of course! We spent Christmas morning at Sandy Point. At 2 miles long, Sandy Point has one of the longest stretches of white sandy beach in the Caribbean. I see it every weekend when we’re out sailing and it looks so beautiful, but due to the limited hours and restrictions, we hadn’t had a chance to visit yet. Sandy Point is a national wildlife refuge and a critical nesting habitat for endangered leatherback sea turtles. Because of this, there are a lot of restrictions. The park is only open on weekends and cruise ship days, except during turtle nesting season (April-August) when it is closed completely. There are no dogs allowed, and there are no facilities and no shade. Nothing can be staked into the ground because it could disrupt a turtle nest. Despite all the restrictions, Sandy Point is a definite must see for people visiting St. Croix. Many people have probably already seen Sandy Point and not even realized it. It’s most famous for being in the movie The Shawshank Redemption. The final scene, which supposedly took place in Zihuatanejo, Mexico, was actually filmed on the beach at Sandy Point.

Since Rosco wasn’t allowed at Sandy Point but still needed his beach time, we took him to one of our favorite beach spots later in the afternoon. I’m not sure if this beach has a name. It’s somewhere between Rainbow beach and Spratt Hall beach. It is, by far, one of the best beaches on the island. It’s a mile long stretch of beach, hidden from the main road by a line of trees. It’s always very private, never more than a few people (except on cruise ship days), and calm, clear blue water and white sandy beach as far as you can see. It’s a great place to take Rosco and let him loose to run and play.

After all that fun in the sun, it was time to start preparing our Christmas feast! I’m used to hosting Christmas dinner. We usually celebrate Christmas at our house with my family and Steve’s parents. But this year it was just the 3 of us! My dream come true! None of the stress and distraction that comes with hosting and entertaining guests, or any of the tensions between family members. Just a relaxing evening at home, with good food and lots of wine. We had so much food; turkey, cranberries, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, biscuits, and chocolate pudding pie. Yum! With enough left over to feed us for a week. We didn’t exchange gifts, except for a few toys for Rosco, but it was the best Christmas I’ve had in a long time. I think Steve enjoyed it, too. Since it was just the 3 of us, and Steve was extra good this year, he got a special treat when I prepared all of our Christmas feast in nothing but a sexy pair of jingle panties that I’d been saving for just the right occasion. Merry Christmas, Steve 😉😍