ARVADA, Colo. — A Colorado tree nursery will hold its annual free Christmas tree giveaway this weekend.
Echter's Nursery & Garden Center in Arvada said the giveaway of Christmas trees to families who can't afford them will be held Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Trees and ornaments will be distributed on a first-come, first-serve basis.
If trees are still available, the event will continue on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
In Dec. 2018, the Arvada nursery and garden center saw there were a lot of Christmas trees left at their family-run store.
"I just couldn’t bear the idea that all these trees were going to get thrown away — they take 10 years to grow — and I was like, 'I know there’s a lot of people out there that could really use them and can’t afford them,'" Julie Echter said.
So that year, she hatched a plan to get those trees into the hands of her community. They invited anyone who couldn’t afford a Christmas tree to their shop to pick one out for free.
"We didn’t know how it would turn out," Echter said. "We didn’t know if anyone would show up and we had this huge crowd of people waiting outside and to watch the kids run in around the trees and be excited — it was emotional and just amazing for all of us to experience."
Five years later, Echter’s is still holding their Christmas tree giveaway a few days before the holiday. Since 2018, they’ve given away hundreds of trees — and it’s evolved into an event where people can not only pick out a tree, but everything that makes a tree ready for Christmas.
"We invite anyone who can’t afford a Christmas tree to come in, and they can get everything they need — their tree, their stand, and we send them home with everything," Echter said. "They can go home and decorate with their family and enjoy their Christmas morning."
The ornaments, decorations, and tree stands were donated by Echter’s customers. The store is still taking ornament donations, and hopes to get a few more tree stands, which can be dropped off at Echter’s Nursery and Garden Center, 5150 Garrison St.
This year, Echter’s will also be giving away toys.
"It’s a really special event and it touched our hearts," Echter said. "It’s become a tradition here and we wanted to keep doing it for the community."
"At least for me it was such a big tradition growing up, getting to decorate it, getting to wake up to it on Christmas morning, and just getting to have that experience with your family — there’s just so many people that can’t do that because it’s just not within their means," Echter said. "We’re really happy to do this event and provide that to families who really need it."
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