Hung Where You Can See—Ornaments for a Cruisin’ Christmas Tree

After 20+ cruises, my Christmas tree is a travel log.

When I pull out the ornaments every year, carefully unwrapping them from the odd assortment of envelopes, ripped bags and misshapen boxes, I’m immediately cruising to the day and place where I bought them.

Find this one at Amber Cove, Dominican Republic

Christmas ornaments make the perfect souvenir—small, cheap and fun to shop for. And in all the ports, there’s plenty of choice. 

The next time you’re tripping around the Caribbean, look out for these particular gems:

Bonaire – painted gourds. There’s a store on the main shopping street that sells the local whimsical craft. Cute little ornaments will only set you back a few bucks.

 

This cutie can be found in Bonaire (hat not included)

Aruba – faux Delft windmills and whatnots. The cruise terminal has a number of shops with a slew of the blue ceramics—from magnets to figurines to ashtrays. They may not be the real thing, but when you get them home, you won’t care.

Put some blue on your green Christmas tree

Cozumel – painted ceramic balls and bells. In the cruise terminal as well as in town, you’ll have quite a pick of colorful ceramic ornaments of all shapes and sizes. My favorite store—you’ll find one at the cruise terminal as well as in town—is Los Cincos Soles. You may pay a tad more here, but the quality’s worth it.

A colorful Cozumel reminder

Barbados – mini dolls and more. Pelican Village—on the left hand side of the street, just a few blocks from the cruise pier towards town—is a small complex of craft shops. You’ll find handmade ornaments and other locally made art and knickknacks.

Onboard stores – tiny ships. You won’t have to look hard to find these—they’ve been on every big ship I’ve been on.

Deck your tree with some Harmony

In fact, anything that remotely looks like it could hang can be turned into an ornament, like bookmarks or keychains. Because one little thing that everyone knows, when it comes to a Christmas tree, anything goes!

Got a favorite for your cruisin' Christmas tree?