Woman shares Christmas spirit

Spreading holiday cheer and using Christmas trees is something one Green River resident aims to do.

Christmas is a special time for city employee Kristine Lessard and that's something she wants all of those who see her trees to remember.

"The reason why I just love Christmas isn't because of the presents and stuff," Lessard said.

Growing up in a middle-class family, Lessard noticed how some things were different for her family. For stockings, Lessard and her family would find their biggest sock from the drawer so it could be filled with an apple, orange, peanuts and a couple pieces of candy.

She pointed to an old looking homemade fireplace scene in her office and said "It all started with that."

The fireplace was made out of an old shoe box or tissue box, which was wrapped in what appeared to be aluminum foil, felt stockings hung in front of the fireplace, a shampoo top acts as a bucket, while an old cigarette butt wrapped in nice paper looks like a piece of candy.

"I have kept the original fireplace all these years," Lessard said. "I keep that as a reminder of where it all started."

For the past eight or nine years, Lessard has shared her Christmas trees with the city. Almost every tree and decoration within city hall was done by Lessard.

Lessard can remember when her passion for tree decorating took off. Even though she always enjoyed tree decorating, it wasn't until after her daughter was killed by a drunk driver around the holidays that she really got into it.

Lessard said she felt she had to change the original tree because it reminded them too much of the family member they had lost and she didn't want Christmases to be like that. She wanted Christmas to be a special time for her family and she wanted them to have the fond memories of Christmas.

"I was trying to show them you can't just stop life, you've got to keep going," Lessard said about the change for her family.

Lessard admits her passion sort of turned into therapy. A way for her to grieve the loss of a child by spreading joy to others through the decorations.

"Most of us had a childhood we'd rather go back to," Lessard said. "Christmas trees are just a gift to everybody to take their trip down memory lane."

With this in mind, Lessard started by putting up a tree and other decorations in her office one year. They were so popular with her coworkers that soon she was decorating the entire parks and recreation department. Soon, that too spread to other departments. Until at one point, Lessard was decorating all of city hall. This year, however, some of the departments offered to decorate their own areas.

With about 24 trees spread throughout city hall, Lessard just knows that at least one of those trees will get each resident thinking about great memories of Christmases past.

"These are not all of my trees," she said. "These are just the ones I chose to share with the city."

She said she could easily decorate 40 six-foot trees on short notice and she's proud of it. Most of the trees are stored in a garage her husband built just for the trees. She said once the trees are put up, they aren't packed back in boxes. They remain up. This way they last a lot longer.

"I have a tree in my house year round," she said.

Most of the trees aren't decorated in traditional Christmas decorations. Some have stuffed animals in them, birds nests, boxes and just about anything else Lessard finds at garage sales or stores that she thinks might make a nice tree decoration.

"I just like to come up with something different," she said.

As with any passion, keeping it going costs money.

"This is all out of my pocket," she said. "The city doesn't pay for it."

Which is why every year she asks for trees or Christmas ornaments for her presents so she can keep the habit going.

Lessard said she's happy to help the city become a more welcoming place, especially around the holidays. 

As for the trees themselves, Lessard is picky about what she calls a tree. She said she doesn't call them a tree unless they are at least 6 feet tall. Others shorter than that are just decorations used as filler. As for other filler, Lessard also has old family photos, toys and books out as decorations for all too see. 

Lessard said any member of the public can come and look at all of the trees and decorations. She even offers personal tours, if residents want one. 

As for picking a favorite tree, Lessard can't do it. They are all unique in their own way and that's the way she likes it.