No one officially announces that a vacation tradition has begun. One year, you take the kids hunting for ghost crabs after dinner. A few beach trips later, you’re packing flashlights before you’ve remembered underwear.

Congratulations. You have a beach tradition.

That’s the funny thing about family vacations. Before long, there’s the restaurant, the annual photo no one can skip, and a mini-golf rivalry that’s gotten entirely too serious.

So, BEACHBALLERS, consider these Gulf Coast vacation traditions officially up for grabs.

One Sunrise. We Promise.

Nobody is suggesting you set an alarm every morning of your beach vacation. (Let’s not get carried away.) But once per trip, get up before the rest of the world, grab some coffee, and head down to the beach to watch the sun come up over the Alabama Gulf Coast. The beach is quiet, the air is cooler, and for a little while it feels like you have the whole place to yourself. Even the family members who complained about the alarm will probably admit it was worth it. (We said “probably.”)

Let the Crab Hunt Begin

Once the sun goes down, grab the flashlights and head to the sand for a little ghost crab hunting. These speedy little beach residents come out after dark, and spotting them along the shoreline is practically a Gulf Coast vacation rite of passage. Just remember that the fun is in finding and watching them, not catching or disturbing them. And be prepared for at least one member of your crew to completely lose composure when a crab suddenly heads their way. It happens to the best of us.

The Mini-Golf Masters

Every family vacation needs at least one activity with unnecessarily high stakes, and mini golf is perfect for the job. Turn one round into your Annual Mini-Golf Championship and keep track of the winner from year to year. Gulf Shores and Orange Beach have plenty of courses to choose from, so you can stay loyal to a favorite or try a new one each trip. If your family is particularly competitive, buy a cheap trophy and let the winner keep it until next year. Twelve months of bragging rights over a plastic trophy won while putting through a pirate ship? Absolutely worth it.

Same Place. Same Photo.

Pick one slightly ridiculous photo that your family must recreate every year. Maybe everyone piles into the giant shark mouth outside Souvenir City, poses beneath the Ferris wheel at The Wharf, or stands in the exact same spot on your favorite stretch of beach. Before you know it, you’ll have years of those photos lined up and be wondering how the toddlers became teenagers so quickly, or when Dad started losing his hair. That annual photo may end up being one of your favorite souvenirs.

The Restaurant You’re Not Allowed to Skip

Every family has the restaurant. You can try somewhere new this year. In fact, you can try five new places. But everyone understands that you’re still going to the restaurant. Maybe it’s LuLu’s, breakfast at Tacky Jacks, or a trip to The Hangout that has somehow become a non-negotiable part of every beach vacation. It doesn’t really matter where your place is. You know it, you love it, and apparently you’re not allowed to go home without stopping by.

Yes, Ice Cream Again.

At home, ice cream every single night might be considered excessive. At the beach, we call that tradition. Pick a different shop each night, rank your favorites, or find one place everyone loves and become regulars for seven days straight. Go after dinner, walk over in pajamas, and let the kids order the ridiculous thing they’ve been eyeing all week. Normal dessert rules can resume after checkout. Until then, BEACHBALLERS, we fully support the nightly ice cream run.

The Stuff You’ll Actually Remember

Here’s the thing about traditions: they don’t have to be impressive to become important.

No one really knows which random moment the kids will remember years from now. It might be chasing ghost crabs with Dad, Mom insisting on that same ridiculous shark picture, or the year Grandpa finally won mini golf and acted like he’d earned the green jacket.

Those little things eventually become your family’s version of the Gulf Coast.

So if you’re looking to start a few traditions of your own, here’s the BEACHBALL breakdown:

• Pick something simple. The best traditions are usually the ones that happen naturally and are easy to repeat year after year.
• Make it yours. Choose your restaurant, your photo spot, your mini-golf rivalry, or whatever becomes part of your family’s beach trip.
• Keep it going. The magic comes a few years from now, when everyone knows exactly what has to happen before you can officially call it a beach vacation.

Ready to start a few traditions of your own? BEACHBALL PROPERTIES has your home base covered in Gulf Shores, Orange Beach, and Fort Morgan for the kind of beach trips your family will want to repeat year after year.

After all, at BEACHBALL PROPERTIES, we believe the best thing you can bring home from the beach is a memory worth coming back for.

Come Have A Ball At The Beach!

– Ginger & Hunter Harrelson