Auburn lots have Christmas trees for everyone

Ryan Roper and his family enjoy this time of year in Auburn. A young Auburn couple are preparing for their first Christmas together. The Placer High School Music Boosters are raising money to purchase needed items for the band. All of these elements blend into the holiday spirit, as each are selling Christmas trees and wreaths. Starting with Roper's Christmas Trees, located at 1605 Grass Valley Highway. Ryan, along with his wife, Michelle, and their children, son Gavin, 13, and daughter Josephine, 10, run Roper's Christmas Trees. The family was busy helping customers late Wednesday afternoon into the early evening hours. "This lot has been at this intersection for up to 40 years now," Ryan Roper said as vehicles slowly but surely moved north and south of Highway 49 near their lot. Roper's Christmas Trees sells all types of trees. "We have silver tips, which are a local California tree," said Ryan Roper. "We also get trees in from Oregon. We have noble furs, grand firs, Douglas firs and Nordmann firs, which are really nice." Roper pointed out that people have different tastes for trees. Some prefer tradition; others may change each year. "Lot of it is tradition," Roper said. "Traditionally, I've always had a silver tip, but some people have had a noble fir. We try to have a little something for everybody." The family has 140 trees on the lot and receives more trees every week for the first three weeks of the season, Roper said. He constantly restocks the silver tips. "There are plenty of choices for everybody," Roper said, giving examples of 12-foot noble firs he says are "big and beautiful." For some, a two-foot tree also does the trick. "So people can put them on their table," Roper said. Once a person, couple or family pick out the tree of their choice, Roper and members of his family put the tree on what's called a shaker, which takes out all of the loose debris that might still be on the tree. Then the tree is netted and put onto the person's vehicle, which Roper and his family personally do. Late afternoon into the early evening hours and weekends is when Roper's Christmas Trees are busy. "The afternoons are always busier," Roper said. "The weekends are normally pretty swamped." Thanksgiving weekend was busy was for the family. "One of the busiest ones we've had," Roper said. Not too far away is Green Acres Nursery and Supply at Eisley's, located at 380 Nevada St. That is where Birch Bricker was overseeing the Christmas tree lot adjacent to the nursery. He helped Laura Ramirez, 22, and her boyfriend Vincent Guerrero, 25, both of Auburn, who were buying their first Christmas tree together. Like the Ropers' lot, Bricker offers similar types of trees that have been sold at the nursery since 2021. Most range in height from nine to 10 feet. Prices range between $79 and $110, depending on the type of tree and size a person, couple or family wants. Bricker said he, too, sold a lot of trees over Thanksgiving weekend. Ramirez and Guerrero knew what type of tree they wanted to purchase. "Something full, vibrant," said Ramirez, who along with Guerrero picked a Noble. "Full of life. Something that represents who we are as a couple, who Auburn is as well." Ramirez admitted the top part of the tree she and Guerrero purchased reminded her of the tree in the animated book of "The Grinch That Stole Christmas." "Something you would see in a storybook," Ramirez said. Guerrero said he didn't have any real Christmas trees when he was growing up. "It's nice to get a real one," Guerrero said. Once they got their Noble tree back to their apartment, Ramirez said their tree would have a "family vibe" in terms of ornaments. "Multicolor, red, yellow, blue," she said. Guerrero added, "A bunch of lights." In the parking lot behind LeFebvre Stadium on the Placer High School campus is the Placer High School Music Boosters' Christmas tree lot, which is also selling wreaths. Kari Lentz, the Music Boosters president, and some students from the school band were greeting people who were looking to buy a tree and wreath. The boosters have been selling trees behind the football stadium for nearly two decades, Lentz noted. The noble fir was the most popular one selling at the time, Lentz said. "It has space for ornaments," Lentz said. The wreaths were decorated with ornaments and ribbons, clearly displayed on the fence when people are driving into the lot. "I know every year, people come just for the wreaths," Lentz said. Lentz said the money raised goes toward purchasing new instruments and washing the band's uniforms that are used for performances.