Boise: City of Christmas Trees?

Oh, Christmas tree, Oh, Christmas tree.

What is the trend in Boise? No tree? Real tree? Artificial tree?

We wondered what folks in and around the “City of Trees” — in a community known for the Treefort Music Fest — did when it came to Christmas trees. Here’s What You Said in answer to some holiday-themed “Today’s Questions” last week:

Jim Brenneman We go up in the mountains and get a real tree most every year. Looks a little spindly but going up in the mountains is the best part.

Jackie Haney Always a real tree. The smell is unbeatable.

Glen Cranor No kids, no tree.

Katherine Gray Fake tree. With kids and animals, it’s the best route.

Jack Heistand Fake tree..fake ornaments, fake excitement.

Don Larkin Traditional arguments of the wife wanting to put one up and me not wanting to. She wins, of course.

Theresa See Some years it’s real, some years we drag out the fake one, some years we have a festivus pole. What matters is my family is together.

Bonnie Shoemaker No Christmas - who can afford it?

Misty Dawn No tree, no decorations, no presents. We donate, volunteer, and bake goodies to give to family & friends. Less commercialism, more giving.

Billijo M. Beck We paint a Christmas Tree on the wall each year. Every year different colors, themes. It’s a Big Craft project for all the kids.

John Henderson We have a lot of saplings on our property that need to be thinned so we choose the trees that we’ll cut and spike them ahead of time to green them up. When the time comes we cut the selected tree down . . .bring it in and trim it. We do not participate in gift exchanges except with a few close friends, and then it is only consumables we have made ourselves.

Donna Stanton A real tree even if there are no presents.

Andrew Jorgensen We make a tree out of old Idaho Statesmans. And then we decorate it with little Facebook Statesman questions of the day, with tinsel hanging down from each question.

Constance Kiesel Don’t have storage for a fake tree. Hate the thought of cutting down a live one. Doesn’t really matter ‘cause most years don’t have the extra cash to buy either one anyway! LOL! Problem solved.

. . .And now for a bonus question. We asked folks to take the lyrics to the “Twelve Days of Christmas” and substitute Idaho icons. Ian Siberzweig responded on Facebook:

The Twelve Days of Christmas in Idaho

On the first day of Christmas, an Idahoan sent to me a sage grouse in a burnt down tree.

On the second day of Christmas, an Idahoan sent to me two Albertsons gift cards and a sage grouse in a burnt down tree.s

On the third day of Christmas, an Idahoan sent to me three craft beers

two Albertsons gift cards and a sage grouse in a burnt down tree.

On the fourth day of Christmas, an Idahoan sent to me four Steelheads tickets,

three craft beers, two Albertsons gift cards and a sage grouse in a burnt down tree.

On the fifth day of Christmas, an Idahoan sent to me five Statesman subscriptions, four Steelheads tickets, three craft beers, two Albertsons gift cards and a sage grouse in a burnt down tree.

On the sixth day of Christmas, an Idahoan sent to me six drivers crashing, five Statesman subscriptions, four Steelheads tickets, three craft beers, two Albertson gift cards and a sage grouse in a burnt down tree.

He finished off the tune with: seven guns for shooting; eight bikes for riding; nine potatoes for eating; ten Basque words for speaking; eleven bullets for hunting and twelve upcoming weeks for legislating.

This story was originally published December 16, 2015 at 7:16 AM with the headline "Boise: City of Christmas Trees?."