Sunset Beach, California photo above shows a life-size pelican statue sitting atop a log, surrounded by some succulent plants and flowers such as a bird of paradise. Around the pelican's neck is a wrap of gold, metallic garland, a decoration added as an accent to celebrate the holidays.   This is California's casual Christmas at the beach.  As the orange sunset crests in the sky into shades of deep purple, the twinkling lights of Port of Long Beach and Los Angeles can be seen in the distant horizon.   Welcome to beautiful Sunset Beach, the place we call irreverent. A mix of old-time, original homeowners much like Balboa Island families that keep their homes or pass them onto family members, plus the newcomers, make Sunset Beach a unique, live-and-let-live community.   Sunset Beach California Christmas event is a "No Parade" celebration parade. NO Parade is a funky beach event that meets in a parking lot and marches with cars, kids, bicycles and whatever, along Pacific Avenue, the one-mile stretch of road that passes between houses lined parallel to the Pacific Ocean and Pacific Coast Highway.   Across that highway, beyond Sunset Island, are the manmade island of Huntington Harbour where the lighted homes are decked out for the annual holiday fund-raising event, Cruise of Lights.   But back on the beach at Sunset Beach, things are a bit more understated. Multi-million dollar beach castles and cottages face the splendor of the ocean and don't confuse the sunsets  with too much noise.