The holiday season officially arrived, as the boys in Boy Scout Troop 626 set to work the weekend before Thanksgiving setting up for their annual Christmas tree lot at Newport Hills Swim and Tennis Club. The scouts worked for several hours assembling large tree display stands, unwrapping 280 trees and hanging lights for another season of tree sales. The Douglas and Noble firs range in size from 5-feet to 10-feet tall.

This is the 34th year Troop 626 has sold trees as their annual fundraiser and many local residents make visiting the lot their family’s annual tradition.

“It is a fantastic fundraiser,” said Scoutmaster Barry Chu. “The scouts learn a great deal about customer service and salesmanship, providing a wonderful tree-shopping experience for the community. They help customers find the right tree, fresh-cut the bottom of the tree, wrap and help tie the tree on the roof of the customer’s car with knots they learned through scouting. Many of our customers return every year.”

The Troop 626 Christmas tree lot is now open at Newport Hills Swim and Tennis Club parking lot through Dec. 18, from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekends and 5-8 p.m. Tuesday-Fridays.