NAMPA, Idaho — 'Tis the season! Christmas isn't complete without a tree – and on Saturday, the community of Nampa gathered to see their Christmas tree come to life.
The crowd counted down before 20,000 green and red twinkling lights – as bright as Rudolph's nose – lit up the tree, which stands in front of Nampa's historic train depot.
This year's tree is a 51-foot-tall blue spruce that weighs more than 14,000 pounds. The tree was donated by DJ and Vickie Holbrook of Nampa.
The official tree lighting ceremony took place Saturday night, and hundreds from the community gathered to get into the swing of the holiday season.
"I'm always amazed that this event continues to grow each year, and people start to make it as part of their holiday tradition to come see the Christmas tree lights, come enjoy Shop Small Saturday and all that downtown Nampa has to offer," said Amy Bowman, the director of communications for the City of Nampa.
Saturday's tree lighting had all of the Christmas staples, including caroling, hot chocolate and a visit from Kris Kringle.
If you missed the lighting ceremony, the tree will continue to shine in front of the train depot in downtown Nampa through the holidays.
After the holiday season, the Christmas tree will be made into mulch for the city's parks and trail systems.
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