For Christmas Shopping, Try the Festival of Trees in Downtown Boise

Festival of Trees, at the Center on the Grove
Run by Saint Alphonsus Hospital
Tickets for seeing the trees sold at the door; tickets for the dinner auction should be purchased in advance, through the Grove or Saint Alphonsus

My mother took me to the first Saint Alphonsus Festival of Trees when I was just a baby. Back then, it was just a few decorated trees. Now, it is a truly gala holiday event that, according to the Saint Alphonsus website, has raised over $4 million dollars for healthcare improvement in the Treasure Valley.

Even though that is amazing, it's not really that surprising when you think of how many people include the Festival of Trees as a major event in their holiday traditions. The event is now located in the fashionable Boise Center on the Grove in downtown, which makes it even more fun to go to.

The Festival of Trees begins with the dinner and auction on the opening night. It is one of the few events in the city of Boise where people really go to the trouble of getting dressed in their finest. It is an elegant event that attracts hundreds of people (over 1,000 in 2004,) and the auction raises a lot of money for the healthcare cause - and they auction of some great stuff, thanks to generous sponsors.

Although the Gala dinner is not the greatest place for kids, never fear: the Festival of Trees is a very kid friendly community event as a whole. Children will love the Breakfast with Santa that takes place in the mornings, as well as getting their picture taken with Santa Claus at any time. There are also contests and art projects that kids can participate in. A good day to take kids in on family day, when they have the scavenger hunt.

Although there are ongoing events throughout the festival, I just like to go and look at all the beautifully decorated trees. Every year, there are more of them - so many now, that they take up entire conference rooms. The trees are given all different kinds of awards for the decorations, and it's fun to see which ones won. Plus, you can bid on the trees if you really like one. The prices tend to run way up, but you are giving money to a really great cause. And you are also getting all the decorations. And if you hate decorating, it's a good way to go. (Personally, I could never buy a fully decorated tree, but that's everyone's individual prerogative.) You can also buy individual ornaments, which is more my style. And they have some really excellent ones here, that you won't see anywhere else. Many are homemade. You can also bid on gingerbread houses, which I have done before: they have some awesome ones here. My mom likes buying gifts from the Saint Alphonsus gift shop, which has a stand at the festival, and sells some really cute things for the holidays.

I think that the best part about Festival of Trees is just being in downtown Boise in the middle of the community, walking around a very spirited display. The Grove usually has a big Christmas tree in the middle, and you can walk around the rest of downtown when you're done with the festival. Boise has that ideal Christmas weather: cold, crisp, and often a little snow, but not too much.