Spend the Holidays at Wrightsville Beach

The holidays. For some people, visions of laughter and group photos spring to mind. For others, it’s a different picture filled with Christmas lights and delicious food. But no matter how you like to celebrate, there’s no place better for the holidays than at Wrightsville Beach – or Carolina Beach, or Topsail Island!

If you’re looking for something new and fresh for your holiday this year, think about an escape to the shore. Thanksgiving or Christmas or Hanukkah or New Year’s are all fabulous in a Wrightsville Beach vacation rental. Think of all the great fun that can be had. And – we still have a few homes available.

Thanksgiving at the Beach

You can let your imagination run wild with what your beach Thanksgiving might look like. Obviously, there’s football. Duh. But other than that, consider some of the following:

  • Beach design competition: You know all those gourds and pumpkins you have decorating your Thanksgiving table (and every other surface in the house)? Gather them together, break into two groups, and design something on the beach. Then see who really wins the extra points!
  • Thanksgiving picnic: The nice thing about the North Carolina beaches near Wilmington is that the weather in November is often really quite lovely. So, whomever is not doing the cooking could be put on table set up duty. If you’ve chosen a beach front vacation rental, just hand everyone a dish to carry and create a parade out to your beach picnic.
  • Flotilla parade: The Saturday after Thanksgiving, this year it’s Nov 27, 2021, there is a boat parade down the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) near Carolina Beach. Fishing boats and pleasure crafts are decorated with thousands of lights and people line up along the hull to spread cheer. It’s a spectacular display which this year will cruise from Snows Cut to Carolina Beach Boat Basin and back. It’s our coastal tradition!
But don’t forget that the crisp, dark skies of November bring some excellent star, moon and planet watching, too so bring a pair of binoculars. And if you come early, the Farmer’s Almanac says you can see a nearly total lunar eclipse in orange!

December: Hanukkah, Christmas, New Years at the Beach

Gather your family. Gather your friends. Get a house or two at the beach. And suddenly, who needs Santa?

Just kidding, of course. We all need Santa. (Dear Sir – please remember the new surfboard 🙂

We remember the Christmas of 2010 when we woke up on the day after Christmas to SNOW! Not a lot, but snow at the beach is a real treat. It doesn’t happen often but when it does, white sand covered with white snow, what a sight to behold!

Some, however, are happy without the snow. Luckily for them, average highs around Thanksgiving and Christmas range from 54°F to 64°F. If that sounds enjoyable, Christmas at Carolina Beach or Wrightsville Beach cold be your cup of tea. Come live the spirit of the season while escaping to paradise!

If you are planning for multiple families, look into a vacation rental home that has five or even six bedrooms and multiple baths like Flock of Sea Girls. Of course, it’s always fun to have a comfier cottage for one or two (check out Jellyfish Hideaway), and it sure makes the holiday more special. Especially if it comes with a hot tub like Sparrows Beach Nest!

If you are looking for something more, besides walking the beach or enjoying an ocean breeze from the porch, check out these holiday inspired outings. They’re just a tiny sample of ideas:

Fun things to do, November and December

From late November through early January, there are so many wonderful activities in store, all within a 20 – 30-minute drive from your beach rental. Christmas Lights: You can pick from holiday decorations all over town, from the highly professional displays to the neighborhoods-gone-wild! Check these out:

  • Woodberry Lights is a home that regularly is called out as the must-see house. It’s in the oft-decorated Woodberry Forest neighborhood, on Kirby Smith Drive. Every year they have great lights, with syncopated music to play from your car radio on FM 101.1
  • Enchanted Airlie. Get your tickets early because this always sells out. It’s one of Wilmington’s premier holiday shows and runs November 26 through December 22. Walk through stunning Airlie Gardens with guests from around the world. Sparkling sights and festive sounds of the holiday season are everywhere on this self-guided walk through holiday lights & music.
  • Cape Fear Festival of Trees is at the North Carolina Aquarium. It’s a very different way to get in the spirit, but a whole lot of fun. They’re just south of Carolina Beach.
Thalian Hall: This is North Carolina’s oldest theatre, and dates back to the 1850s when Wilmington was the largest city in the state. Every year they offer a different line up of film, dance, concerts and live theatre. This year, you can pick from any of the following and marvel at the amazing architecture while you’re thoroughly entertained:

  • Music:
Celtic Angels Christmas, December 1
Raleigh Ringers, December 4

  • Live Theatre:
Every Christmas Story Ever Told, December 9 – 19
Elf, The Musical, December 10 – 19
Footloose, December 30 – Jan 15

  • Film:
It’s a Wonderful Life, December 23

  • Ballet for Young Audiences:
Snow White, December 2
The Nutcracker, December 3 – 4

Holidays in History: The Bellamy Mansion Museum (503 Market St) is always a great experience. Each season they decorate the historic home with traditional Christmas décor. Come see what Christmas was like for the residents in the 1800s. And just two blocks away is the Burgwin Wright House. Their holiday open house lets you experience how people decorated in the colonial era, with décor from the 1700s. You might even get to take a candlelit tour!

Front Street Brewery (9 N Front St) is Wilmington’s oldest brewery. In a beer-lovers town, that experience has brough some expertise. And they’ve put that expertise to work in a special holiday beer named for Tiny Tim. Who could resist this little bit of holiday spirit?

Christmas Shopping can be so much fun when you’re in a new place. Both Carolina Beach and Wrightsville Beach have great neighborhood shops. I really enjoy the boutique stores like Meadowlark that you’ll find in The Forum.

More traditional shopping is found at Mayfaire. In fact, they’ll host their annual Holiday Market Extravaganza on Saturday, December 11 with a day full of holiday shopping with local vendors, giveaways, and more (maybe Santa?).

Or head over to the reimagined Independence Mall and see Santa from Fri. Nov 26 – Fri. Dec 24.

Horse Drawn Carriage rides are available downtown Wilmington. As a matter of fact, if you book early enough you can get on the Christmas Carol tour. They even provide the blankets! Then jump off and do some shopping before heading out to dinner at one of Wilmington’s renowned downtown restaurants. If you need help choosing one, we can help point you in the right direction!

Cooking in your Holiday Rental

Sometimes you need a change-up to get into a new cooking spirit. A different kitchen – one that’s maybe even more fun to cook in than your own – is waiting for you to get creative with a holiday menu!

Take Thanksgiving, for instance. You might usually roast a turkey – but maybe at the beach you’ll grill it or fry it. And add oysters to the dressing.

What’s your Christmas Eve food tradition? There are so many great places to pick up platters or casseroles to go. Maybe your Christmas Eve includes seafood.

Prepping your own feast with fresh-from-the-sea oysters, shrimp, stuffed flounder, or even striped bass would make an ideal prelude to opening a single gift as you gather with friends and family.

No matter the holiday or the food you choose, your beach rental from Sea Scape Properties will come with everything you need. Feel free to check with us ahead of your arrival to see what’s available in the home you have chosen.

Simply the Best!

For a lot of people, November and December are the best months to get a vacation home on one of our North Carolina beaches. That’s because they absolutely love the weather! You can enjoy reasonably warm sunny days and then cool – maybe even a little crisp – nights.

Some of our properties have fire pits for use so you can cuddle up next to a fire and listen to the waves crash – check out A Shore Thing if that sounds like the perfect getaway. No matter which holiday it is, you’ll want to have the makings for smores handy! Be sure to add your favorite chocolate, marshmallows, and graham crackers to your shopping list.

Frankly, it doesn’t matter which month you decide to visit us at the beach. We know you’ll have a great time and create new memories, both in your vacation rental and by enjoying all our area beaches have to offer.

Come join us. You can browse our properties here. But don’t wait too long to book, availability goes quickly! Need help finding the perfect holiday home? We’d love to hear from you! You can email us or give us a call at 910-332-7284.

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It Takes a Village: Giving Thanks to Great Community Businesses

Those who have ever started or run a small business know how important other businesses can be to your success. The businesses that support your work, that refer customers to you, that speak kindly of your, and even partner with you on promotions, are gold.

During the height of the COVID pandemic, businesses were facing a drop in patronage. Especially tourism-related companies. In the hopes of supporting our local businesses, Sea Scape decided to try and partner with a few to help promote each other via social media. What we received was a very warm welcome and great success for all involved!

Being it is the month of ‘Thanks’, we felt it was the perfect time to highlight a few of the businesses that partnered with us. Besides helping our guests have a great experience, these folks helped to make a real difference in the success of our business, Sea Scape Properties.

Here’s an old-fashioned ‘attaboy’ for the following companies that made Shop Local really work:

Wrightsville SUP: Going to the beach is so much more than just walking or sitting on the beach. That’s why we love all that’s offered by Wrightsville SUP and you can find them right across Banks Channel in Wrightsville. These guys not only offer rentals, but SUP lessons, yoga, bike rentals, kayak trips – any kind of water or coastal adventure you can think of, it seems, is available through Wrightsville SUP. Thanks, Wrightsville SUP!

Things to do in Wilmington via Instagram: Talk about promoting local! If you want to know about activites, eateries and places to stay – like Sea Scape Properties – give these guys a follow. You won’t regret it. Thank you, Things to Do in Wilmington! Life on Wrightsville via Instagram: Want to know what it’s like to live in Wrightsville Beach all year round? Follow Life on Wrightsville on IG. They feature daily stories with locals and tourists doing the things we love to do in our area. Thank you, Life on Wrightsville!

Redix: Need something for your beach trip? Because when you go to Redix, you can probably get it there. This beloved store has served the Wrightsville Beach area since 1969, and even opened a downtown Wilmington location within the past few years because it seems everyone needs a new Yeti. Or new bathing suit. Or flipflops. Quite honestly, we’re proud to partner up with this legendary retailer. Thanks for all you do, Redix!

Watermans Brewery: So many of our guests find that getting out of the beach rental and heading over to Waterman’s just adds another layer of fun to their vacation. Incredible food and tasty local brews. Well, it’s not just their food and beer that’s good. These are good people. And they’ve been kind enough to help us grow in so many ways. Cheers, Waterman’s Brewery!

Palm Tree Island: One of Wrightsville Beach’s most iconic locations is a little-known but much-loved little palm tree island. This manmade “island” boasts a fake palm tree and a real parking meter and was created by the residents of Wrightsville Beach as a sort of homage to the location. It’s a favorite gathering place for boaters and SUPers and is all over Instagram for that reason. So, what could possibly be a better name for a T shirt company that offers location memories? We love Palm Tree Island products and people. Not just because the shirts are cool, but because in addition to helping us at every turn, they help the entire community. A portion of proceeds from shirt sales goes to maintaining Palm Tree Island and supporting the Wrightsville Beach Museum.  Plus, PTI is a sponsor and active supporter of Lump to Laughter, The Carousel Center and The Melanoma Foundation. Thanks a million Palm Tree Island!

Pine Valley Market:  How do you describe a restaurant/deli/takeout/shop when they offer so much? Their website lists them simultaneously as a Café, a Catering Company, a Prepared Foods store, a Butcher, a Wine shop, and a Gourmet food store. We make it simple: Delicious! This year they partnered with us to offer all the Sea Scape Properties guests a shopping-free vacation, where our guests were able to order ahead and have food waiting for them when they arrived. We received grand reviews on the food and service and hope to provide this amenity again next season. This past summer, PVM participated in our grand giveaway where one of our lucky IG followers won a stay at one of our beachfront properties and PVM provided breakfast AND dinner for four – prepared and delivered. Amazing!! You are the absolute best, Pine Valley Market!

Prana Salt Cave: Sometimes when you go on vacation you want to experience a complete rejuvenation. Often, you want to thoroughly cleanse yourself of the stress and negativity. This is when you add Prana Salt Cave to your visit to the beach. Prana is not far away from Wrightsville Beach and offers a very different kind of salt experience… one without water. A complete relaxation room, where your toes are nestled in the sand and the Himalayan Salt walls seem to speak to you, saying calm, clean, rested. Prana has been a great cheerleader for our work, and we for theirs. We love you, Prana!

Ceviche: Doesn’t the word just make you hungry? This now iconic restaurant on the mainland, but just across the Wrightsville Beach bridge, has proven over and over that not only do they know great food, but they know the people they serve and the community in which they live and work. Their staff was kind enough to recommend us as “the best rental management company on the island.” Thanks, Ceviche!

Salty Dog and Island Wellness: Vacationing is all about relaxation and Salty Dog offers just that with a laid-back island vibe. They are all about connecting with and inspiring the community that surrounds their Carolina Beach studio. Pilates, barre, yoga, unique workshops – in studio and outdoors! They also offer Get Salty TV so you can take Salty Dog Island and Wellness home with you. Salty Dog has been an incredible partner and we thank you!

Good Hops Brewery: Looking for a tasty brew in a comfortable neighborhood setting? This is the place! Good Hops fashions beer as unique as the island they call home with fresh new brews month after month. The folks at Good Hops are all about family and LOCAL thinking! They strive every day to strengthen their connection with each other and their community and it shows! We are so very honored Good Hops Brewery chose to partner with us – thank you!

Rounds Golf: In the off chance you’ve had a bit too much sun or the weather decides to not cooperate while visiting our island, a little indoor fun may be required. How about playing a round at Rounds Golf? Located just across the bridge in Mayfair Town Center is Rounds Golf & Ledo Pizza – Wilmington’s premiere indoor golf and games venue. Great food, great staff and great fun. Thanks Rounds!!

Boombalattis Ice Cream: Homemade ice cream? Yes, please! Just minutes from Wrightsville is the ice cream lover’s dream, Boombalattis. Family owned and operated; these folks churn out premium, homemade ice cream using only dairy from grass-fed North Carolina cows and staying away from artificial flavors or colors. They’ve been named Best Ice Cream in Wilmington by StarNews and Encore readers. We also name you the best, Boombalattis! Thanks for partnering with us!

South End Surf Shop: At the far South end of Wrightsville is a well known surf shop called, you guessed it, South End Surf Shop. Owner Jeff DeGroote grew up surfing Wrightsville Beach and opened South End to continue to be part of the surfing community and support surfers and non-surfers alike. Rent, buy, schedule lessons or hang out and chat with Jeff. The building itself was built in 1941 – it’s certainly a unique surf shop experience with historic appeal. Thank you, Jeff and South End Surf Shop, for your support!

“All of the businesses on our Thank You list have participated in an Instagram giveaway with us,” said Jessica Elliott, Marketing Director at Sea Scape Properties. “They all donated prizes, and reshared our post to their followers. Each giveaway saw amazing success and interaction. More importantly, we feel we have created lasting relationships with our local business community. That’s priceless. It truly makes all the difference when we join together to help each other succeed.”

So, during November, we wanted to send a special Thank You to all the above partners that have helped make our guests trips ever-so-special, and help our business be the best community partner we can be.

Note: be on the lookout for our next IG giveaway…. highly sought after Enchanted Airlie tickets and dinner at Bluewater! Be sure to keep checking our IG feed @seascapeproperties for dates and instructions.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

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Runners Flock to Wrightsville Beach in February

People who love the outdoors have always loved Wrightsville Beach. But people who love to run, well, they really love Wrightsville Beach.

Wrightsville Beach has some of the best beach running opportunities in the southeast. It’s not just the four miles of sand that’s so wonderful. No, runners enjoy taking in the whole of what Wrightsville Beach has to offer on the John Nesbitt Loop, better known as The Loop. This 2.45-mile loop around the heart of Wrightsville beach is a sidewalk trail that offers scenic views. It also has restrooms, water fountains, pet water fountains and pet waste bags (and disposal), in case you have a running buddy.

But if you are taking a winter holiday at the beach, you have even more to choose from. February has two big, organized running events in which you can participate.

Wrightsville Beach Valentine Run

If you’ve been thinking about getting a beach vacation rental, the Valentine’s Day weekend is a great time to go. For runners, you can start your Valentines’ Day celebration off with a heart-themed race on Saturday, February 12th, 2022. Runners often wear red or pink as they enjoy the flat and fast course.

A 5K starts at 8am, leaving from Wrightsville Beach Town Hall, and runs an extended version of The Loop. The 10K starts at 9:15am, also starting at Town Hall but running a different course that takes you to the ICW and then almost to the south end of the beach before heading back.

Up for a challenge? Run both! It’s called the Double Trouble, and that could be apt for the start of a Valentine’s weekend.

Because it’s a flat surface, it’s stroller friendly. Dogs, however, should stay home from this one.

If you’re interested in the run, you can register here .

Run Wilmington Marathon

If you are a serious runner, you might consider the Novant Run Wilmington Marathon . The half and full marathon courses are both certified and sanctioned by USATF . In fact, the Wilmington Marathon has become one of the top races in the country used to qualify for the Boston Marathon .

  • Like teamwork? Try the 26.2 relay. It starts at Johnny Mercer Pier , along with the marathoners.

  • Prefer a 5K? With this option, your run will take you through Historic Downtown Wilmington .

  • Kids ready for a fun run? There’s a 1-mile Glow Run – a timed race where every child running gets a race t-shirt and free waffles from Waffle House when they finish.

About the 2022 race course: From the race’s website :

The 2022 course will start at Johnny Mercer Pier overlooking the Atlantic Ocean at sunrise. The half, full and relay will take off and head west toward downtown Wilmington. The 5K and 1 mile will start and finish downtown Wilmington at the Live Oak Bank Pavilion.

The first 5 miles will be on flat main roads. Spectators can watch along this portion and can head downtown for the finish. Roads will be open for traffic at all times with a few detours. Once the runners hit mile 6.5, they will turn onto US 74 and head downtown. This will be a quiet portion of the event, as spectators will not be allowed here, but we will have aid stations, signage, and music. By mile 9, US 74 raises up over the marsh land of Wilmington and runners will be elevated over land for 1.5 miles until the half splits from the full. The half marathon runs through Historic Downtown Wilmington to the River Front finish. The full marathon will continue to beautiful Greenfield Lake and back to the finish. From there, the rest of the course is mostly flat as the full marathon travels around Greenfield Lake trail as an out and back. The finish is located at Live Oak Bank Pavilion in beautiful Historic Downtown Wilmington.

The race is fun to watch, too! You’ll find that Wilmingtonians often sit on their front porches and cheer on the runners. With so many elite runners competing from all over the world, people enjoy doing what they can to help support these amazing athletes.

Stay with Sea Scape

We still have vacation homes available to rent during the 2022 marathon weekend dates. Give yourself all the comforts and privacy of home when you come to run. And bring your family and friends along with you! It’s so much more fun to celebrate your race accomplishment with those you love.

Visit our website to see what is available during your preferred dates. And don’t hesitate to call us at 910-332-7284 or email if you find you still have questions.

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