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Ed Vaisnor’s Burton Valley Christmas Tree — A Lafayette Holiday Tradition

In the heart of Burton Valley, at the corner where Burton Drive meets Lucas and Silverado, stands the Vaisnor family’s 25-foot pine tree. This time of year, the tree serves as a neighborhood Christmas beacon. With circles of holiday lights and a bright star, it’s poised center stage in a Christmas manger scene that is arguably the longest lasting Burton Valley holiday tradition.

Have you seen the tree lit up this year? It was decorated the day it is always decorated — the Friday after Thanksgiving.

The Burton Valley Christmas Tree, circa 2012

 

Neither Ed Vaisnor, nor his eldest son Mark, who has decorated the tree each Christmas season since sometime in the 1980’s, recall the exact year when they started to string lights.  What they remember is how the family’s holiday yard decorations evolved, beginning shortly after Ed and his wife Esther purchased the home in 1963.

“We were always up to something,” recalls Ed.

In the early years, Ed created a winter scene visible to neighbors through the garage window. Then there were years when he perched a Santa with a sleigh on the roof, along with a manger. Eventually, though, Ed and Esther, who passed away 6 years ago, settled into the idea of staging the manger in the yard, surrounded by garland.

The lights came later. They were Mark’s idea, back when the tree was much smaller. He didn’t know then that a one-time offer to string them would turn into an annual job he has no hope of shaking.

We caught up with Ed and Mark on Friday while the decorating was in progress.

Burton Valley Neighbors Helping Mark & Ed Vaisnor Decorate the Burton Valley Christmas Tree

Decorating the tree might be the Vaisnors’ gift to the neighborhood, but the tree itself? That started out as a gift to them by a neighbor, five years after the Vaisnors moved into the house. The year was 1968, but Ed can’t remember which neighbor gave them the tree  – or even why. And really, does it matter? What’s important, says Ed, is how much things have changed since he planted it.

“It was 3 feet tall then,” says Ed.

Meanwhile, what was once one son’s idea has evolved into an important part of Burton Valley’s holiday landscape — fun to look at and a useful navigation tool for visiting friends. After all, how can your guests miss Silverado when you tell them to take the right at the stop sign near the big Christmas tree?

“I didn’t envision it becoming a tradition, but it is,” said Mark, from his spot near the top of a tall ladder. “The response from the people in Burton Valley has been overwhelming.”

People pause and enjoy. Some wave. Others say thank-you. It’s all appreciated.

Santa doesn’t work alone, and neither do the Vaisnors.  Neighbors help Ed and Mark create the holiday scene each year on the Friday after Thanksgiving. If you’d like to join in, don’t wait for an invitation. Just stop by around 10 a.m. on the Friday after Thanksgiving — of any year!

Longstanding volunteers include Bob Wright and Dave Brubaker. This year, Mike Peterson, a Del Valle High School friend of Mark’s, came in from Walnut Creek, and Burton Valley neighbor Mike Sebree w What as back for his fifth time. The newest member of the crew? That would be Rick Wise, who has lived a few houses down from Ed for nearly three decades.

“I had to be here 28 years before I was trusted with the job,” Wise teased.

about the cost of keeping the tree lit through the season?

“That’s minor compared to the satisfaction,” says Ed, adding it’s worthwhile, in part, because every year between 50 to 100 people will say something akin to the words he loves to hear: “Do it again.”

Thanks to Ed, Mark and all the friends and neighbors who help decorate the tree and manger scene each year. This tradition matters to a lot of us.

Please, do it again!

Editor’s Note: Do you have a memory or story you’d like to share about these holiday decorations? Please share it below!

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