Christmas tree at Crystal Pier, Pacific Beach, San Diego, California, USA

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Surf, sand and Santa. Christmas tree at Crystal Pier, San Diego, California, United States

Santa has plenty of runway to land, but good luck trying to find a chimney. Today, we're getting ready for Christmas at Pacific Beach in San Diego, California, United States. While it might not snow here, there's still plenty of yuletide spirit leading up to Christmas in sunny Southern California. Among many beautiful examples on San Diego's Christmas Tree Trail is the 6-metre tree at the end of a festively decorated Crystal Pier.

Stretching out 265 metres into the water, the family-owned pier has been a Pacific Beach icon since 1927. Once home to a ballroom and carnival-like midway, Crystal Pier has since become a mellower vacation destination and one of the few places on the West Coast with rental accommodations over the ocean. Open to the public during the day and 24/7 for hotel guests, the pier is an ideal place to take in panoramic coastal views, watch whales and surfers at play, do some fishing or bathe in glorious coastal sunsets. Pacific Beach also has a lively restaurant, bar and club scene if eggnog isn't your thing. There are certainly colder places to spend Christmas, but perhaps no place cooler than Crystal Pier.