The Christmas tree is too big for your car? These peninsula tree lots offer home delivery

Whether you want to enjoy the Christmas lights, purchase holly and Christmas trees, improve your interior design skills, or explore the Santa Cruz Mountains in the winter, you’ll find plenty of options. Check out our calendar of events for home and garden in December.

Christmas trees delivered to your home

If you want to deck the halls with the tallest Christmas trees, you don’t necessarily need a large vehicle to transport one home. The following Christmas tree lots on the Peninsula offer home delivery and setup services.

Santa’s Village at Webb Ranch
10 a.m. – 6 p.m., daily, from now on – until the trees are sold out | Webb Ranch, 2718 Alpine Road, Portola Valley| More information

Santa’s Village at the family-owned Webb Ranch is a holiday tradition that has spanned more than six decades on the Peninsula. Each year, the 300-acre working ranch is transformed into a Christmas wonderland with Christmas trees, garland, wreaths, lights, decorations, poinsettias, gifts, ornaments and more for sale. The trees, grown in Oregon and Washington and brought to the ranch, can be delivered to your home by arrangement at the time of purchase. Reservations are required to visit Santa’s Village on weekends.

Sea Scout Christmas tree lot
11am-9pm, Monday-Friday & 9am-9pm, Saturday-Sunday, now – until the trees sell out | 3672 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto | More information

The Sea Scout Christmas Tree Lot offers residents the opportunity to purchase a tree while supporting a local cause. The volunteer-run tree lot is the largest annual fundraiser for the Sea Scouts, a program of the Boy Scouts of America that provides maritime and life skills training. Funds from tree sales support local Boy Scout programs

The property offers a variety of tree species and sizes, wreaths and garlands. Once you visit the property and select your tree, the Sea Scouts will deliver it and place it in your home for an additional fee.

Spartans Tree Lot
4:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m., Monday-Friday & 10:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m., Saturday-Sunday | Mountain View High School, 3535 Truman Ave., Mountain View | Further information and online shop

If you prefer to shop from home, you can order a Christmas tree for delivery online from Spartans Tree Lot. The property, which benefits Mountain View High School Athletics, features prime noble firs, Nordmann firs and Douglas firs ranging in size from 3 feet to 9 feet. The lot also features Christmas decorations and accessories such as handmade reindeer, snowmen and wreaths. Trees can be purchased online or in person. Home delivery is free and available within a 5 mile radius of the high school in the cities of Mountain View, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Sunnyvale and Cupertino.

Winter Festival at Gamble Garden

Thursday – Saturday, 5th – 7th December | Gamble Garden, 1431 Waverley St., Palo Alto | Tickets and information

The historic property and gardens host a three-day winter festival that includes a grand opening party on December 5th, a tree lighting ceremony and a special holiday evening with Santa Claus (December 6th). a holiday ballet performance; arts and crafts for children; stilt walker; Holiday teas, music and a festive marketplace with vendors and local artisans.

Gamble Garden also hosts holiday dinners and a tour of the house and gardens in December.

Winter festival times vary. The luncheons will be held December 10-14 from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. Wreath workshops December 12th, 6-8pm and December 14th, 2-4pm; House and garden tour December 17th, 1:30 p.m

El Camino Real: The Story of California’s First Highway

6:30 p.m. – 8 p.m., Thursday, December 12 | Mountain View Public Library, 585 Franklin St. | Registration recommended

El Camino Real. The royal road. The San Francisco-San Jose Road. Highway 101. Highway 82. No matter what it is called, the Camino Real is a story of colonization, conversion, coercion, connections and trade.

The road stretches from San Diego to San Francisco and has a long history. Learn more about El Camino, its route across the state, and the local landmarks that have shaped our community during a 90-minute historical lecture by IdaRose Sylvester and Pamela Baird.

Walk-ins are welcome, but seating is limited.

Make a festive holiday wreath

6-8 p.m., Thursday, December 12th and 2-4 p.m., Saturday, December 14th | Gamble Garden, 1431 Waverley St., Palo Alto | $165 for non-members | Tickets and information

Kick off the holidays with a wreath making class at Gamble Garden. Instructor Katherine Glazier shows you how to construct and design a fragrant evergreen wreath for your front door or as an eye-catching table centerpiece.

Bring a pair of floral scissors. All other materials are provided, including seasonal embellishments such as cones and ribbons. You are welcome to bring treasures from home and garden to further enhance your design. Both courses cover the same material.

Exploring the Chestnut Trail – and other winter traditions

10:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m., Wednesday, December 18 | Long Ridge Preserve, La Honda

| Free | More information

Enjoy a moderate 5-mile hike with naturalists Kate Bauer, Mary Brunkhorst, Nick Yatsko and Dennis Smith. On this out-and-back hike with an elevation gain of 200 feet, you follow the Chestnut Trail along the ridge from Long Ridge Preserve to Skyline Ridge Preserve. You will see chestnut and conifer trees and learn how the traditions associated with these beautiful trees have brought joy to many cold winter days. Bring a snack.
Meet at the Peters Creek Roadside Parking, on the west side of Skyline Boulevard, 3.6 miles north of Highway 9. If you are coming from the north on Skyline Blvd. The exit is just past Portola Heights Road on the right. When viewed from the south, the stop is near the Palo Alto city limits sign on the right. There is additional parking at the Grizzly Flat trailhead (Santa Clara County Park) across Skyline Boulevard.

Introduction to interior design

Wednesday December 18th | Palo Alto Adult School, online | Registration fee $129. Registration and further information.

Learn how to transform plain living spaces into beautiful and functional spaces in this six-week course that walks participants through the interior design process from start to finish: Participants will learn how to design every aspect of a room with color theory and industry trends in mind Arrangements, floor plans, design ideas and furnishing basics. The course also covers sustainable designs and modifying designs for people with special needs.

Interior designer Sara Smallwood, whose work includes everything from residential design to large international hotel chains (such as Marriott International), will lead this course. Participants can choose to enroll in either the instructor-led course or the self-paced course, which offers multiple start dates. Registration begins December 6th.

Succulent open house and holiday plant sales

9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m., Saturday, December 21st | Martial Cottle Park, 5283 Snell Ave., San Jose | Free. More information

UC Master Gardeners will host a holiday succulent sale and open house at the demonstration garden in Martial Cottle Park. Visitors can pick out holiday gifts or treat themselves to succulent logs, table decorations, California native plants and a selection of other plants.

Vacation in Filoli

10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., Now – January 12, Filoli, 86 Cañada Road, Woodside | Tickets and information.

Celebrate the Christmas season Filoli. The historic house and surrounding gardens will be decorated in Christmas spirit until January 12th. During the day, enjoy warm drinks by the fire pit or take a lunch break at the Quail Café. In the evening, immerse yourself in a dazzling world of Christmas spirit as impressive performances and historic natural beauty enchant old favorites and new experiences.

Roses: winter care and pruning

7 p.m. – 8:30 p.m., Wednesday, January 15 | Los Altos Library, 13 S. San Antonio Road, Los Altos | Free | More information

Learn how winter care and pruning can make a big difference for healthy summer blooms. UC gardener Martha Carpenter shares tips on what to do now to have healthy, vibrant flowers next summer and conducts a pruning demonstration.