Have you ever taken part in one of the greatest Austin Christmas traditions? Decorating the cedar trees on the 360 loop.
We watched news reports, read articles, and asked people who have been decorating the trees for 15 years…and nobody seemed to have a consistent story for how the tradition started. Like a lot of Austin weirdness…someone obviously just got a wild hair and a bunch of other someones liked it and joined in.
Just as cool is the fact that it all gets cleaned up just as mysteriously as it got decorated. So obviously we don’t need to get all preachy and suggest that everyone clean up after…because you already do!
If you’re wondering how bold you have to be to do what feels like the holiday equivalent of TPing your neighbor’s house, don’t worry. It’s perfectly legal.
But if hearing that it’s legal actually takes some of the fun out of it for you, then you can CAREFULLY try to compete with some of the people who seem to pride themselves on decorating particularly high or hard to get to trees. We have to assume those are the same people who spray graffiti on the underside of bridges 30′ in the air
We’ve seen some people post rules and guidelines but that’s not very AuStIn now is it? So instead we asked a local tree artist named Sarah for her best artistic inspirations. “Think Trailer Park mixed with the Domain” she said. “The decorations need to be seen from the street, so even though many of the themes are creative …like the tree with Barbie dolls…I go with pie pans”.
Some people even use battery-powered or solar light strings. We think those people should get extra credit.
Check out the videos below for inspiring ideas. Then pack up your friends and family and go make a statement with your own decorated tree.
