At Dan West, Christmas is a very special time of the year. The garden center comes alive with the sights, sounds and smells of the holiday season. What most people don’t know is that Christmas for us starts in August. When most of our customers are on vacation, getting ready to go back to school, or just hiding out in the air conditioning to escape the summer heat, the garden center begins to go through the transformation to the Christmas season. All of the artificial trees, garland, and greenery that we sell, begins to arrive in late August, along with box after box of ornaments, lights, ribbons, and other decorations. The display trees that have stood dark all summer long are lit up and refreshed with new lights, ready to receive the decorations that sit in the unpacked boxes that have filled the gift shop. The person who takes on the monumental task of setting up the Christmas store, Lydia, unpacks all the new inventory and works her magic redecorating the display trees and restocking the shelves. In her spare time she starts hand tying the Custom Bows that we sell by the hundreds.
The first week of October the transformation begins in the Garden Center. The inventory is cleared from the floor and the job of setting up all of the artificial trees begins. Each tree is carefully unpacked and fluffed until all the displays are standing tall. All of this needs to be completed before our open house, the first weekend in November. Soon after open house, the trees and shrubs are sent back to our Eads location to winter over in the greenhouses. The racks that once housed the nursery stock are dismantled to make room for our Christmas trees which arrive the Sunday before Thanksgiving. Our fresh cut Fraser Fir trees come from the mountains of North Carolina. Our inventory is usually cut on Wednesday and Thursday, packed and loaded on Friday and Saturday, and the truck is waiting for us bright and early Sunday morning. We affectionately call this day “tree day”. Included with the trees are our fresh wreaths and live garlands. Once the truck is unloaded and the outside displays are built, we shift into hi-gear and for the next 2 to 3 weeks, we run! We wrap, stand, and deliver in our general area, 200 plus trees along with selling the remainder off the lot. Our services include assisting our customers in finding that perfect tree, wrapping their tree with protective netting for the drive home, installing most tree stands, safely tying to a roof rack or loading into your truck or trailer, and supplying a tree disposal bag and food to keep your tree fresh.
We proudly offer:
- Custom ribbons and hand tied bows
- Artificial pre-lit Christmas ranging from 3’ to 10’
- Artificial garland and wreaths
- Fresh cut Fraser Fir trees from 5’ to 10’+
- Fresh wreaths made from Boxwood, Fraser Fir, and mixed varieties
- Fresh garlands made of Boxwood, White Pine, Western Cedar, Noble Fir, and mixed varieties
- Nativities, Smokers, and Nutcrackers
- Merck Family’s Old World ornaments
- Willow Tree by Demdaco
- Colonial Candles
- Join us for our 34th annual Christmas Open House, Saturday, November 3rd from 10am to 4pm, and Sunday November 4th from Noon to 4pm. Enjoy refreshments and sign up for door prizes while you stroll through our selection of trees, garlands, wreaths, and ornaments.
- Fresh cut Christmas trees, wreaths, and garlands arrive the week of Thanksgiving.