CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Sometimes, all you need to get into the spirit of the season is a change of scenery. Why not kick things off by swapping your palm trees for Christmas trees at the Art Museum of South Texas?
Junior League of Corpus Christi co-chairs Erika Roelse and Michelle Campbell joined us live to walk us through this year's Christmas Tree Forest theme, "A Reading Wonderland," which aims to promote literacy among South Texas children.
"All the trees being themed on books hopefully will encourage some of these kids to see the trees and even read books they haven't read before," said Roelse. "That's kind of like the secret behind the Christmas Tree Forest."
The Christmas Tree Forest consists of 30 trees that were decorated with handmade ornaments by 30 Coastal Bend school groups. Each school group chose a children's book that they were then asked to read and design a hand-crafted, Christmas tree unique to the book.
Visitors can also view the Christmas Tree Forest and vote for their favorite trees up until Dec. 14. Criteria that the museum hopes you keep in mind include theme appropriateness, creativity and aesthetic. The three Christmas trees with the most votes overall will be awarded with HEB gift cards.
This year's lineup of trees is available for virtual viewing and voting here.
The Art Museum of South Texas will also host a free family day event from 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. on Dec. 10, where families are invited to take photos with Santa Claus, watch live performances and participate in various fun activities around the museum. The first 100 children at the event will also be given HEB goody bags filled with treats and a book.