PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — Diane Tice, a.k.a. the Christmas Tree Lady of Palm Beach Gardens, loves Christmas trees.
She loves them so much that she keeps more than 10 of them up year-round in her PGA National home.
She started with five full-sized themed trees but Tice's Christmas tree collection has grown steadily over the last four years since I met her. From 20 trees in 2021 to 30 in 2022 to 55 in 2023 and now 63 in 2024.
She keeps many of the trees up all year to avoid running out of room in her garage (a stipulation her husband is firm on). This means her husband, David, must find a way to store and fit the other 50+ trees in the house and still have room for his car in the garage.
Each of Tice's Christmas trees has a unique theme. Some of the themes include:
● Teacup/teapot
● Butterflies
● Taylor Swift ("Calling Mary Swift")
● Gingerbread
● Zodiac
● "How Much is that Doggy in the Window"
● Roses & Riches
● Snowflake Tree is David Tice's favorite tree, even though he notes it's having some problems this year with its climate control feature
● Donut Tree is a favorite of the Tice's grandchildren, featuring ornaments that look like real donuts
● Tiffany Box Tree is decorated with 200 miniature Tiffany boxes
● Lily Pulitzer Tree is themed after the Palm Beach-inspired clothing brand
● Flamingo Tree
● Patriotic Tree
● Leopard Tree, which one of the grandchildren finds scary
● Golf Ball Tree ties into the Tice family's home on the PGA National Golf Course
● "Starry Night" Tree, decorated with turquoise and blue ornaments
● Peacock Tree
● "First Noel" Tree
● "Oh Christmas Tree"
Tice gets inspiration for new tree themes all year round, sometimes even waking up in the middle of the night with ideas. She says the trees make her happy because they remind her of happy Christmas memories from her childhood, her children's childhood, and now her grandchildren's Christmases.
She also believes the trees provide a "coping mechanism" for dealing with the problems of the world, "put [the problems of the world] out of your mind for a few minutes and just relax and enjoy the season".
This year, Tice is using her Christmas tree collection to raise money for Hearts of Palm, a charity run by Karen Cook at St. Mark's Episcopal Church. Hearts of Palm helps underprivileged communities in a variety of ways, including providing housing assistance, paying utility bills, and preventing evictions. Cook has been the director of Hearts of Palm for 12 years. The charity is currently raising money for a new Hearts of Palm Center in Riviera Beach, Florida. The center will house several local non-profits so they can share resources and work together to help those in need.
Visitors to the Tice home are often "blown away" by the display.16 Reverend James Cook, Karen Cook's husband, described the display as "stunning" and said that visitors feel "inspired" by it.
Both Karen and James Cook agree that the Christmas tree display is a great way to raise awareness for Hearts of Palm. They hope that people who see the display will be moved to donate to the charity or simply feel more connected to the spirit of Christmas.
