nlb333 - 11-11-2009 at 09:32 AM
I realize how stupid of a question this is, but I want to know if real trees are brought in, if so where can I buy them, We live in San Bruno and
don't want to travel too far. I was thinking about getting a fake one but the prices seem a little high. I feel my best bet would be to make one, but
what does one make a christmas tree out of? i saw one online made out of soda cans, but do i really want to drink that much soda? now i could do so
with beer, none the less, i don't know if i could drink all the beer and still be sober enough to make the darn tree. any suggestions would be
helpful.
and no, i am not setting up now, i just want to know in advance for when christmas does creep up on me. think of it people, it's only 49days away. oh
boy that was a mistake to calculate, now i'm stressed.....
monoloco - 11-11-2009 at 11:11 AM
Most people around here use the flower stalk from a maguey.
Loretana - 11-11-2009 at 11:31 AM
nlb333....
my Dad always said that the only stupid question is the one you don't bother to ask.
So about the Christmas tree, you are hoping for a real one? A beautiful spruce or pine to make your Baja Christmas just like home?
Fresh green trees are considered a real status symbol in Mexico. Most of the imported trees from my state, Oregon, are shipped in the next two weeks
to mainland Mexico, and are outrageously expensive. I brought trees from my property to Mexico when I lived in San Carlos, Sonora, and it was a big
deal.
You may see real trees for sale in Tijuana or Tecate, but be prepared to haul them in yourself. Or, better yet, monoloco suggested, invent one from
local stuff.
DENNIS - 11-11-2009 at 12:06 PM
I haven't seen them yet but, Ensenada has large Christmas Tree lots. last year they were open so early that by Christmas day, the trees were a
crispy dry fire hazard.
lofty - 11-11-2009 at 01:48 PM
I remember our team leaving a car trailer across from the Marina hotel in Ensanada at the beginning of the Baja 2000, only to return 10 days later to
find a Christmas tree lot there. The trailer was considered a loss and we went home, I dont know why we ever thought it would still be there 10 days
later it was insured and they payed us in full. 2 years later it was spotted at the Estero beach hotel, they assumed the trailer had been abandoned,
so being it was on there piece of property ( across from the marina hotel)they claimed it as theres.
[Edited on 11-11-2009 by lofty]
mulegemichael - 11-11-2009 at 02:29 PM
when i lived on the east cape we would harvest what i thought were agave blossoms, spray paint them a gaudy color and decorate...muy
mexicana...monoloco calls them maguey stalks...who cares?..it works..
noproblemo2 - 11-11-2009 at 05:08 PM
Lots were being set up today in Ensenada, no trees yet though...
bajamigo - 11-11-2009 at 05:12 PM
Costco in Ensenada will be selling trees, but in the past, they were very pricey. They get a lot cheaper closer to Christmas, unless, of course, you
want green needles on the boughs.
vandenberg - 11-11-2009 at 08:07 PM
Get an artificial one. They make them look very realistic nowadays. Had one for 18 years and don't even bother to put it away properly after the
season. We just park it in a corner of the front porch and let the birds nest in it. In December we just take a hose to it and voila, like new.
They're indestructable and serve you well for years.
Paulina - 11-11-2009 at 08:48 PM
One of my fondest memories is going Christmas Tree shopping with Herman in Bahia.
We would pack bottled water, maybe 4 cervesas and two bananas, a saw, some rope and head north on the road back to the highway. We would drive the
road to his "Green Valley" K19-26, looking for just the right tree lot.
We would turn off of the pavement and drive through the desert, checking each "tree" out till we found just the right specimen.
We would choose one for his casa, one for mine, and as many others that we needed depending on the orders we had taken before our departure. I think
the most we collected one year was 4.
He always set his up on his deck. He had an Angel for the top and blue Christmas lights.
He and I did this every year, usually the day after we enjoyed Thanksgiving dinner on Herman's patio.
We set ours up on the beach in front of our trailers, decorated with Sand dollars and seashells strung on fishing line.
We held this tradition until it was not considered environmentally friendly. Our last trip was celebrated by taking Cody with us. She was in
Kindergarten at the time, so this was almost 8 years ago. Herman took us out on a desert hunt, walked her through Indian circles, tasted wild desert
onions, explored rocks that were shaped like marbles laying in piles ready for a kid to grab by the handful.
That was the best Christmas tree shopping trip and the last trip that we took.
I miss those days.
P<*)))>{
[Edited on 12-11-2009 by Paulina]
Mexitron - 11-12-2009 at 04:48 AM
Why on earth would using a dead Agave bloom not be environmentally friendly?
Paulina - 11-12-2009 at 02:51 PM
Good question. Probably the same reason why collecting dead brush or branches for firewood is against the rules.
Maybe we were reducing the habitat for homeless lizards and bugs?
When the word came out that it was no longer acceptable we managed to keep our last tree for almost three years until the mice chewed the last bit up.
Maybe that's it, we were starving those poor desert critters by taking their blooms away.
Perhaps someone who really knows what it's all about can shed some light on this subject.
<*)))>{
nlb333 - 11-16-2009 at 08:42 PM
cool, thanks for all your ideas guys, i really appreciate them...