Forget the pine and the ornaments, South Florida’s most unique Christmas tree is made up entirely of sand!
Yes, there are dozens of dazzling trees to check out this time of year, from our very own Christmas Wonderland centerpiece — which lights up a half-mile stretch of themed trails — to Delray’s majestic Christmas tree, also known as the largest in Florida. And yet, this may be the most unconventional one!
Meet Sandi, the world’s only 35-foot-tall holiday tree created from 700 tons of sand. It offers a tropical twist on your classic tree, even coming alive every night to holiday favorites. Put together in West Palm Beach by a talented team of sculptors, it is 100% sustainable for the first time this year, with the sand used having been recycled from previous Sandi displays.
Each December, the city’s annual Holiday in Paradise celebration brings locals and visitors together for an evening of music, vendors and the lighting of Sandi for the this season. It’ll all go down at 6 p.m. on Thursday, December 4th, where the tree will marvel once again adorned with dazzling lights and synchronized to catchy tunes.
Plus, you can catch Sandi’s “cousin,” a 50-foot Ferris wheel named Ferris, which offers unbeatable aerial views of the Intracoastal Waterway.
The beloved Sandi tradition dates back to 2012, when the city enlisted Team Sandtastic to bring the first official sand tree to life, weighing 400 pounds and decorated with LED lights.
Sandi Nightly Light Shows
You can catch the tree lighting up nightly from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. at the West Palm Beach Great Lawn, 100 N. Clematis Street, from December 4 through 31. Learn more on the official WPB website here.