The Trees Are On Their Way! Belmont Lions Club Returns With 66th Annual XMas Tree & Wreath Sale

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Photo: The annual Christmas Tree & Wreath sale starts on Friday, Nov. 24 at 2 p.m.

While the day after Thanksgiving is known as “Black Friday,” many residents in Belmont view the day as “Green Friday” as the first load of Christmas trees arrives at the World War I Memorial for the Belmont Lions Club’s 66th annual Tree & Wreath Sale.

Student-athletes from Belmont High School will be at the Memorial delta on Friday, Nov. 24, to unload the trees that have traveled from a farm in Nova Scotia that has been supplying the sale since 1957. Until Christmas Eve, Lions Club members and volunteers will help residents select their favorite evergreens, stack them onto cars and SUVs, or wrap them up for the hardy souls carrying them home.

Tree sale hours are:

  • Nov. 24: The sale opens at 2 p.m.
  • Monday to Friday: Noon to 8 p.m.
  • Saturday and Sunday: 9 a.m. to 7 p.m

Parking on Common Street adjacent to the Lions Club will be blocked off for the month the sale occurs.

While the cost of trees has risen by 10 percent since 2022, the Lions Club’s board has kept the same prices as last year.

A majority of the money raised will go to eye research, which is the central national charity of the Lions Club, while a tip jar will benefit local causes.

One word of advice: Don’t wait! The sale usually sees the last tree leave the delta a week before Christmas.

New Rules And Times For Leaving Your X-Mas Tree For Pickup

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Photo: New rule on X-Mas tree pickup.

As Christmas is fading into the distance, the annual “de-dressing” of o’ Tannenbaum has begun and it’s off to the sidewalk for the family Christmas tree. 

And the Department of Public Works has a message to all residents:

Starting this year, Christmas trees will only be picked up during the two weeks from:

Jan. 7 to Jan. 17. So residents will have two opportunities to have trees picked up.

Please plan accordingly, according to the DPW, or you will have to hold on to your tree for a year (!) or you’ll need to have it hauled away by a private contractor. (Or you can recycle your tree yourself. They make a great covering for flower or vegetable gardens.)

Since the trees are being chipped and composted, they must not have any ornaments, tinsel or lights on them.

Also, the trees can’t be in a bag.

Finally, per the DPW, make sure that your tree is not covered by snow and ice, to facilitate putting it in the truck.

The trees will be recycled this year and will be diverted from the Waste to Energy plant.

O’ Tannenbaum, O’ Tannenbaum; It Can Be Left on the Curb Starting Monday

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Photo: Goodbye until next year. 

Today, Monday, Jan. 4th, is the day before Twelfth Night, which marks the end of the Christmas holiday (it’s the night before Epiphany, the day when the nativity story says the three wise men visited the infant Jesus), which in the past was a time of revelry and merry making.

And with the end of the holiday comes another tradition: the dumping of the family Christmas tree onto the curb. 

And starting today, the Belmont Department of Public Works will collect your Christmas trees at the curb for regular trash pickup on the designated trash day during the first two full weeks of January.

For those who like to recycle, the branches can be spread over your garden plot to help protect the soil and provide some shelter for voles and chipmunks. 

If you have any questions about ol‘ Tannenbaum, contact the Belmont Public Works at 617-993-2680.

Oh, Christmas Tree, You Can Place It On the Curb Beginning this Week

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Today, Jan. 5th, is Twelfth Night, which marks the end of the Christmas holiday (it’s the night before Epiphany, the day when the nativity story says the three wise men visited the infant Jesus), which in the past was a time of revelry and merry making.

And with the end of the holiday comes another tradition: the dumping of the family Christmas tree onto the curb.

And starting today, the Belmont Department of Public Works will collect your Christmas trees at the curb for regular trash pickup on the designated trash day during the first two full weeks of January.