Fresh from Thanksgiving Break, Gainesville was in a merry mood Sunday.
On the corners of busy streets and in front of chain stores, dark-green Christmas trees — some tall, some small — greeted families as they transitioned from Turkey Day to the winter holiday.
Outside Littlewood Elementary School, where Parker’s Christmas Trees set up shop, 7-year-old Magnolia Nelson and her mother looked for the perfect tree.
Magnolia’s mother, Jenny Hill, said the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas serves as a buffer time to enjoy the company of family.
“It’s just a nice sort of marker each year between two of the bigger holidays,” the Gainesville resident said.
Hill said her family typically chops down their own pine trees for Christmas but decided to buy a traditional fir this year. The change was welcomed by Magnolia, who wandered around the trees, touching their prickly needles.
Parker’s Christmas Trees, owned by UF alumnus Sam Parker, expects to sell out this year — just like every year.
Since Friday, Parker has sold about 1,000 trees outside Littlewood and at St. Michael’s Episcopal Church, employee Drew Wilson estimated.
Elsewhere, tree-filled tents have sprouted in front of Home Depot stores and empty grass lots in anticipation for the holiday rush.
For Jayson Messick, an 18-year-old Santa Fe College student who works for Parker, helping families get into the holiday spirit makes hauling and chopping trees worthwhile.
“I like the little kids running around, smelling the Christmas trees (and) being happy,” the business administration freshman said.
