Festival of Trees

As most of you know, I’ve had some fun times with my friends over that last year.  However, I think out of everything we’ve done together, this takes the cake.  I wish I could say I helped, but the other ladies deserve all the credit!  Way to go, ladies!

A few months ago, my friend Danylle had the idea to donate a Twilight-themed tree to the Festival of Trees.  For those of you unfamiliar with the Festival of Trees, it’s a charity event held each year around Christmas to help raise money for the Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City.  Groups, such as local businesses, girls scout troops, local families, etc. donate a tree, complete with decorations and presents.  The trees are auctioned to the highest bidder, who gets to keep the tree and all its trimmings.  All the money earned from the auction goes to the hospital.

The tree and its trimmings cost $1300 to put together and was slated to sell for $1600.  To our surprise, it sold for $4000! We couldn’t be happier!  We never dreamed we’d be able to raise that much money for the hospital!

Each of the four books in the Twilight Saga is represented on the tree and “A Cullen Christmas” banner, at the top, brings all the decorations together.  Twilight is represented by apple ornaments.  New Moon is represented by tulip ornaments.  Eclipse is represented by the red ribbon adorning the tree.  And, Breaking Dawn is represented by the white queen chess pieces.  There are also glass balls with the Cullens’ and Bella’s names.

We decided to get gifts for each of the main characters in the books. For those of you who’ve read the books, the gift list will make more sense.

• Bella: a scrapbook and camera
• Edward: an electronic keyboard
• Charlie: a fishing pole
• Renee: an autographed copy of The Host donated by The King’s English bookshop and a $10.00 gift certificate
• Carlisle: the “Operation” board game
• Esme: a pink tool set
• Emmett: a black bear rug and a toy jeep
• Rosalie: a silver-plated vanity set
• Alice: a Magic Eight Ball
• Jasper: some American Civil War books
• Renesmee: the complete works of Shakespeare and Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice
• Jacob: a new toolbox, work light, and work gloves
• The Volturi: the “Risk” board game

In addition to the themed gifts:

• Sue made a vinyl lettering sign and a cookie plate that says, “Dear Santa, Vampires Believe.”
• Shauna made a tree skirt, which is actually a twin-size quilt with the four book cover designs.
• Infinite Jewelry, the official jewelry maker for the Twilight Saga, donated the Bella Bracelet and Engagement Ring.
• Twilight Teez, the official T-shirt vendor for the Twilight Saga, donated the Edward “Bite Me” baseball cap and the Jacob “Hot Dog” beanie hat.
• The Forks Chamber of Commerce donated a Forks Washington baseball cap.
• Forks Outfitters sent a Forks Spartan sweatshirt.
• Brent Neilson hand-carved the beautiful queen and pawn chess piece bookends for the Twilight Saga.
• The complete Twilight Saga, a La Push hoodie, a Forks T-shirt, a “Team Edward” purse, a plush penguin doll, a Twilight 2009 calendar, and a Twilight movie poster were also under the tree.

The tree exceeded all my expectations and turned out beautifully!  I’m glad I can be a part of such a wonderful group of ladies!

I’m sure the ladies who spent their time, energy, and money would love to know what you think.  You can go to our blog to leave a comment, if you’d like.