Kansas City can do better than the oddly-shaped mayor’s Christmas Tree in Crown Center

The more I think about it, the more it upsets me. How in the world is this a thing? It’s so ugly and misshapen.

That “thing” that has occupied too much of my mind this holiday season is the mayor’s Christmas Tree in Crown Center. It’s so bad.

Every time I see it, it sucks the holiday cheer right out of me. Honestly, it looks like the Grinch is about to stuff it up the chimney with its slender and upward-slanting appearance. It doesn’t look like any Christmas tree I have ever seen. Ask a child to draw a tree and it would look much better than what currently sits in one of the city’s most popular spots.

Let me get this straight: Each year, thousands of people gather around this upside-down-champagne-glass-looking shrub of a tree to celebrate? Am I the only one not impressed and frankly depressed by the state of this Kansas City tradition?

Now, I don’t mean to rain — or maybe snow — on the festivity and historical legacy. The 2022 tree marks 50 years at Crown Center for this annual celebration. I want to focus on the next 50 years. How do we make it better?

Well, there’s a simple solution that you don’t need to loop Santa Claus in on.

Did anyone catch the “Today” show Friday morning? It featured a beautiful snowy live shot from Syracuse, New York. Behind the reporter was a wonderful, normal-looking, traditional Christmas tree. It sits in Armory Square in Syracuse and, much like Kansas City, the mayor invites hundreds of people to come downtown to see it light up each year.

Now, what if I told you that tree wasn’t a natural one?

Back in 2019, Syracuse city government made the decision to stop cutting down living trees and switch to one that would be more environmentally friendly.

According to The Post Standard, the local paper in Syracuse, the new, reusable artificial tree will save the city some $370,000 over the next decade in labor and overtime for city workers, who must now hang lights and then remove them at the end of the season for every natural tree brought in. The fake tree’s energy-efficient LED lights will remain in place while it’s in storage.

The new tree for Syracuse ended up costing around $50,000 to purchase. Setting it up takes work crews just one day.

Nothing says “Merry Christmas” like saving taxpayer money and improving governmental efficiency.

I would love to know how much getting a tree costs Kansas City each year. Sure, Hallmark uses the wood from the tree to make ornaments for people to buy. Cool, I guess. I just don’t think it needs to be a thing much longer.

Ultimately, what I am proposing is to get rid of the oddly-shaped tree and opt for one that actually looks like a Christmas tree — one that just so happens to be more forward-thinking. Let’s spruce up the 50-year-old tradition with a much-needed upgrade.

This story was originally published December 18, 2022 at 6:00 AM.