Austin, TX at Christmas Time: Christmas Trees Galore Along Loop 360

Tags

Austin, Christmas, Christmas decorations, Christmas tree, Loop 360, photography, Texas

[Click on pictures to enlarge]

Do you know what they do for Christmas in Texas? You know how they say everything is bigger here…

In Austin, they – elves? – decorate Christmas trees on a grand scale. They may not have the Rockefeller Center giant Christmas tree that New-Yorkers enjoy, but they have Christmas trees along the roads. Let me explain.

No more than a couple of weeks before Thanksgiving (Nov. 28 this year), we started spotting a strange phenomenon on Loop 360, on our almost-daily way to Austin.

We saw one, then two, then five, then ten trees that looked like decorated (sometimes a bit weirdly – but this is Austin after all!) Christmas trees. In fact, more and more appeared everyday. It soon became evident that something was going on.

Indeed, cedar trees lining Loop 360 are decorated for Christmas. Some trees are decorated as traditional Christmas trees, some have themes, some seem to hold a message known only to those who decorated them. Apparently, it has been going on for several years (I read 15 years here), people from the area just come and decorate a tree if and how they wish, and it’s a very cool tradition in my opinion. That some people would take the time and get inspired to go and decorate a tree that will be visible by everyone is a testimony to the fun and joyful spirit of Christmas in Austin.

I know some of you might wonder about what happens to the decorations once the holidays are over. Do people come and clean? I wondered too. I’ll have to check that in a month or so, since this is our first Christmas here. I read different comments on the matter: some said that some decorations were left behind to become litter, while others commented that they had never seen one that had not been cleaned. I won’t decorate one tree this year, because it is a little late, but I have an idea for next year, and it seems obvious to me that I would come and clean after the holidays. So I’ll wait and see for what happens.

Meanwhile, here are some pictures of only a few of the Christmas trees we saw. I also added some links at the end of this post if you want to learn more.

Additional links:
– Holiday cedar trees line Loop 360 – KVUE ABC
– Austin: Loop 360 Christmas Trees – TripAdvisor
– Photos: Christmas Trees on Loop 360 – KVUE ABC
– Christmas Trees on Loop 360 in Austin – REATX
– An Austin holiday tradition: Loop 360 trees get mysteriously decorated – Culture Map Austin