Heather Glexboski/DN
SUSAN AND DOUG Winkelmann and their children Ryan, Monica and Erica look for a Christmas tree at Evergreen Hills
Tree Farm. The farm is open Thursday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to sundown, and Sunday from 1 p.m. to sundown.
Pining away for a real tree
or going faux: Debate bums on
ByAdamKlinker
Staff water
It's beginning to look a lot like
Christmas - trees, that is.
With a month to go before
Christmas Day, the race is on for people
to get the most for their holiday buck in
the decorations department. And no
Christmas-celebrating house is fully
decked out without the centerpiece: the
Christmas tree.
The only question: Pine or plastic?
For the staunch traditionalists, the
answer is easy. They're going to head for
all the piney goodness of a real, live,
ffesh-ffom-the-farm tannenbaum.
The nature-loving Christmas tree
devotees can get their fill of Yuletide
bliss - complete with a trek through the
woods to cut their own tree - at the
Evergreen Hills Tree Farm at 15105 S.
84th St. in Papillion.
Some might be scared by memories
of Clark Griswold's exploits from
“National Lampoon's Christmas
Vacation.”
lNotnmg like tnat here, reassured
Bob Stevenson, manager of the farm.
“We just want to enjoy the people
that want to have the experience of
going out and cutting down their own
tree, and creating a family tradition for
their children,” Stevenson said.
Stevenson, who owns and operates
the farm as a family business, said all
the necessary tools to bring m the fami
ly tree are provided by the farm, as well
as some of the holiday charm.
At the Evergreen Hills Farm, fami
lies venture out and choose the tree they
feel is right for them, Stevenson said.
They then cut it down and haul it
back to the main bam, where the tree is
put on a shaker to nd it of loose needles.
From there, the tree can be bailed and
netted for easy transportation home.
“We offer part of the tradition,”
Stevenson said "part of the experiences
of our grandparents who went out into
the country and cut down their own tree
and hauled it back home on their own.”
Of course, Stevenson said, the farm
competes with store-bought trees and
artificial trees, which are becoming
more popular with the family on the go.
But Stevenson said the Ev ergreen
Hills Farm, in its fourth year of busi
ness, has seen an increase in its cus
tomer base.
At the Evergreen Hills Farm, hardy
woodsmen and woodswomen can
expect to pay S4.50 a foot on the tree of
their choosing.
Russ Plummer, an assistant manag
er at Fincoln's KMart Super Center,
3300 N. 27th St., said he has sold more
than 20 trees in the past week.
An artificial tree at KMart Super
Center runs anywhere from S39.99 to
SI79.99, depending on the size, which
ranges from 4 to 7 feet tall.
At the Fincoln Hy-Vee Food Store
at 48th and Feighton streets, tree buyers
can get their choice of natural or artifi
cial trees.
“It’s more of an impulse item as far
as Hy-Vee is concerned,” said general
merchandise manager Vicki Collins.
“People come here to buy food and they
see that they can also get a Christmas
tree.”
All natural trees at Hy-Vee cost
$12.99.
Stevenson said freshly cut trees and
pre-cut, store-bought trees look and
smell differently in buyers’ homes.
“Freshly cut trees provide a lovely
ambiance for the holiday season,”
Stevenson said.
“They give off a fresh aroma and
environmentally, they're a plus. They
cleanse the air and provide oxygen, and
they're a lot better looking.”
Stevenson also said that a fresh tree
usually survives longer than a store
bought tree, which is often cut in
October.
The verdict is still out on the holiday
desirability of artificial trees.
Sure, they’re easier to clean up when
January comes, Stevenson said but
after a while, they start looking worn.
Some shoppers buy artificial trees
to avoid the fire hazard of a drying nat
ural tree.
But Stevenson said a fresh tree can
withstand a flame just as well as most
flame-retardant artificial trees.
Whichever way buyers choose to go
this holiday season, they should remem
ber one other tree option made possible
by the wonder of technology.
A virtual Christmas tree is available
for display at http: 'worldkids
. net/kids/daniel/tree. html.
Go surfing at Christmas
without leaving the house
By Kasey Kerber
Senior editor
You don't need a glass of egg nog
in your hand and family members in
the vicinity for cheer.
All you really need to celebrate the
holidays is a few mouse clicks away.
Check out these five sites for holi
day Web fun.
The Monkees' Christmas
Parody Page
http: www.geociries.com Hollywood
Hills 4d2~7 holidayditnil
Christmas songs set to the beat of
some of the mop-headed group's
greatest hits.
Christmas Adventure Post
Office
http: www.adyennuv.simplenet.com
postcards Christmas animated.html
Who needs to waste hard-earned
cents on postage, when he or she can
send friends and family members a
free Christmas card online'?
This site lets you pick the design,
the music to accompany it and lets you
include your own message.
Christmas Tree Disposal
http: irvnt.mindspring.com -chadall
en tree index.html
A humorous and illustrated look
at how to get rid of that tree once the
'■fresh pine scent” is long gone.
Santa Claus Timeline
http: webpages, marshcdl.edu -hurt
well humor MISC SANTA_CLAI S_
TIMELINE. HTML
Here's a humorous look at Santa's
existence from 1689 to 2011. Did you
know he was a German-Spanish
explorer .1 Check out the site to learn
more.
Mimi's Christmas Cookie
Archive
h : t p : vc vc vc. a a cj t . c o m
vegetablepatch eookiear.html
About every type of Christmas
cookie you can think of is included on
this site, along with recipes on how to
make each. So get cook( ie)ing!
2W $99
Safi&ine $2 / 9
'ZOA'TDA'k S*£S
20% t* 65%
‘Rubf $129
C17ic>m^s Jfew&l&jrs
.“. . <^tp>. .
Kast Park Plaza • 66th Sc “O” • 467-5402
“Open Sundays'”