BOISE, Idaho — In the east end of Boise, tucked into a little neighborhood on Avenue I, you'll find a huge Christmas tree in front of a home located at 502 N Ave I. It rivals the Capitol Christmas tree at 45-feet tall.
The blue spruce tree was planted with love 36 years ago by Pat Records, for his baby daughter, Megan. He's been decorating it for twenty years now. It's a joyful neighborhood holiday tradition, and it's taken on a life of its own.
"I planted it when Megan my daughter was about two years old. She's 38 now," said Pat Records, the owner of the home where the tree is planted. "About 20 years ago, she's like why don't you start putting lights on it. I started out with about ten strings and now we are up to 2300 bulbs. Then my son Brandon came along and I planted that one for him. So we have my kids trees."
Today, Megan Records is 38, and Brandon Records is 34, and they have families of their own. Their trees have a special place in their hearts, especially at Christmas. Megan's tree is now 45 feet tall, Brandon's is twenty feet.
"They love them," said Records.
The neighbors love them too.
"They do. They will tell me they do, and some will bring cookies and little gifts to thank me," said Records.
So, how does he get the lights way up top? tradition is a labor of love.
"It takes a good week to prep the bulbs, check all the lights," said Records. "It started out with using a pole, then I got a long ladder, but the problem is the tree keeps growing year after year! So I had to break down and rent a lift."
Yes, he rents a lift to get all those lights way up there. It's quite the show.
"Then it takes about a day with the lift to put the higher ones up and the next day I can put the lower ones up," said Records with a sigh. "But, I love doing it, it gets me out of the house. The only downside is I have to rent the lift twice, to take the lights down after Christmas. What goes up has to come down!"
Pat's tree is something to behold, any city would be thrilled to have it at Christmas time as the city's tree. But, he says he'll never donate it.
"Donate it? You mean cut it down? No. Maybe the next owners can do that? As long as I'm here, that tree will stay right where it is," said Pat.
He may be getting older, but Records says he will keep this family and neighborhood tradition alive for as long as he can.
"It really makes Christmas more fun, especially when people come by and say they like it. As I said, I started doing it for the kids, but it's just grown into a neighborhood tradition. And I'm going to keep doing it. because it does feel good, because people appreciate it."
Watch more '7's Hero'
See all of the heartwarming segments in our YouTube playlist here: