PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — Diane Tice's "tree-mendous" obsession for decorating Christmas Trees started “small." She only trimmed five full-sized trees a year.
“And then it jumped up to seven,” said Tice.
Now I affectionately caller her “The Christmas Tree Lady,” because she is up to over 30 unFIR-getable trees.
“Why not more trees, because they bring me some happiness and joy and my grandkids love them,” said Tice.
Her trees are LIT. She starts decorating before anyone else is even thinking about Halloween.
“ I start in September,” said Tice.
When you walk into her house, you'll pine away at the different types.
Inflatable trees, trees that match the patio furniture, flamingos, Tiffany and Lilly Pulitzer, trees that snow, trees in the bathtub, bathrooms, even a patriotic tree.
“ My granddaughter is afraid of the leopard tree because she doesn't like leopards and thinks they look scary,” she said.
She lives on the PGA National golf course so of course there is the golf ball tree too.
Her friends just think she is nuts.
“But they also love it. They love it. They love to come see it and see the different things I come up with every year. But yeah, sure a lot of people think you know my why would she do this but I just love it,” she said.
But where does it all go when she's done for the season?
“ I store everything in a huge closet that I have. The trees are all stored in the garage,” said Tice.
Her husband, David, has a rule.
“He said if you need a storage unit, you've got to stop,” she said.
She “hides” how much extra Wattage she is using on her FPL bill.
"We [use the] average [program] all year long, he doesn't know how much higher it is,” said Tice.
Her Christmas trees make her merry and bright.
“They are a distraction from the negativity of the world I would say definitely. You forget about problems and you know things that are not right in this world,” she said.
And she's already planning for next year.
“This is the time to buy right now when everything is 60% off,” she said.
Next year, she is sprucing them up. Purple is out, and red and white reindeer are in.
