NO FOREST, BUT BIG TREES

The time has come for stockings over the fireplace, mistletoe and Christmas carols--but it wouldn’t be a proper Christmas without an evergreen decorated with garlands, lights and a star on top.

This year Orange County’s biggest trees are not all evergreens, and in some cases their ornaments hold a deeper significance than simple decoration. The tree in Costa Mesa’s Crystal Court, for example, combines a steel frame covered with plywood and stapled screen and built-in lights with a Victorian exterior, two 16-foot-tall Santa Clauses, two trains and animated snow figurines. The decorations on St. Joseph Hospital’s tree, however, are more than simply festive: Each white light represents a donation in memory of a friend or relative; the ornaments on the community tree in Dana Point were all made by children from the R.H. Dana Exceptional Needs Facility for the handicapped.

Here’s where you can find the county’s biggest trees:

NEWPORT CENTER FASHION

ISLAND

62 Fashion Island (directly in front of the Broadway at 701 Newport Center Drive)

Newport Beach

Height: 110 feet

Type of tree: white fir

Origin: Mt. Shasta

Number of lights/ornaments: 5,000 lights, 5,000 ornaments

Display dismantled: Jan. 2

TOWN CENTER PARK

Bristol and Town Center Drive, behind the Imperial Bank tower (695 Town Center Drive) and next to Westin South Coast Plaza

Costa Mesa

Height: 80 feet

Type of tree: Douglas fir

Origin: Washington

Number of lights/ornaments: 10,000 lights, one star at the top

Display dismantled: Jan. 2

DISNEYLAND

1313 S. Harbor Blvd.

Anaheim

Height: 55 feet

Type of tree: white fir

Origin: Mt. Shasta

Number of lights/ornaments: 2,000 lights, 1,300 ornaments, star at the top

Display dismantled: Jan. 2

CRYSTAL COURT

3333 Bear St.

Costa Mesa

Height: 50 feet

Type of tree: artificial

Origin: Studio Production, Tempe, Ariz.

Number of lights/ornaments: 4,000 lights

Display dismantled: Dec. 26

RITZ-CARLTON HOTEL

33533 Shoreline Dr.

Laguna Niguel

Height: 50 feet

Type of tree: Hybrid Noble

Origin: Oregon

Number of lights/ornaments: 130,000 white lights (on tree and vicinity)

Display dismantled: Jan. 2

KNOTT’S BERRY FARM

8039 Beach Blvd.

Buena Park

Height: 43 feet

Type of tree: Douglas fir

Origin: Mt. Shasta

Number of lights/ornaments: 2,000 lights, 1,500 ornaments

Display dismantled: Jan. 2

JEWEL COURT, SOUTH COAST PLAZA

3333 S. Bristol St.

Costa Mesa

Height: 40 feet

Type of tree: artificial

Origin: Barrango (display manufacturers), San Francisco

Number of lights/ornaments: 14,000 lights, 25 candelabra bases, 18 cherubs

Display dismantled: Jan. 2

ST. JOSEPH HOSPITAL

1100 W. Stewart Drive

Orange

Height: 35 feet

Type of tree: Santa Cruz redwood

Origin: Orange County Nursery

Number of lights/ornaments: 2,135 small white lights

Display dismantled: Jan. 1

LANTERN BAY PARK

Park Lantern St.

(below the Dana Point Resort)

Dana Point

Height: 30 feet

Type of tree: Monterey pine

Origin: California

Number of lights/ornaments: 150 lights, 100 ornaments

Display dismantled: Jan. 10

ANAHEIM HILTON AND TOWERS

77 W. Convention Way

Anaheim

Height: 30 feet

Type of tree: blue spruce

Origin: Oregon

Number of lights/ornaments: 10,000 lights

Display dismantled: Jan. 2

HUNTINGTON CENTER

7777 Edinger Ave.

Huntington Beach

Height: 22 feet

Type of tree: artificial

Origin: Smart Design, Salt Lake City, Utah

Number of lights/ornaments: 180 lights, 125 ornaments

Display dismantled: Jan. 2

Source: Individual sponsors