Littleton Revives Holiday Magic With New Evergreens on Main Street

While grabbing a hot cup of cocoa or shopping in downtown Littleton, you’ll see plenty of trees decorated with festive lights this winter.

In 2023, the town's decorative trees were removed along Main Street after contracting disease, according to the city, draining some of the usual holiday spirit and charm. But with the help of the community, those trees, lights and holiday spirit were restored this winter.

After the city deemed it necessary to cut down the diseased trees and cover the leftover holes with cement, Littleton residents made their disappointment known, according to the Littleton Downtown Development Authority, which works to boost the area's economic health. So the LDDA earmarked funds to restore the holiday trees in 2024.

According to LLDA executive director Jenny Starkey, removing the trees didn't just rob downtown Littleton of holiday ambience. It also led to less lighting in the area, making it less welcoming to visitors, she says.

“If you had the choice to go to an area that's walkable, well lit and has a million twinkling, sparkling lights and do your holiday shopping versus one that does not have that opportunity anymore, where do you think shoppers are going to go?" Starkey asks. "So there was a big cry from the community to say, ‘Oh, my gosh, we don't want to lose our beloved trees,' because that's what makes downtown Littleton what it is.”

Upon digging into civic policy, LDDA secretary Krista Falkenstine suggested that the organization look into the city's
downtown mobility and streetscape improvements plan, Project Downtown, as a source for various upgrades to the area, including adding trees. However, Project Downtown is set to take several years to complete.

“The city was not going to plan to invest any money into doing any kind of trees until after that project was completed,” Falkenstine says.

Unwilling to wait, the LDDA designated part of the 2024 operating budget as well as sponsorships and community grants to pay for the new trees.

The replanting initiative, approved in June, includes 34 live, potted evergreen trees. They were grown in a nursery, transplanted in wooden planters and shipped to Littleton, Starkey explains.

Of the 34 trees, 22 were sponsored by local businesses and community members, amounting to $22,500 in donations. Once the holiday season is over in February, the trees will find homes among program sponsors to maximize the environmental impact in the community by being permanently planted in the ground.

“And the sponsors that receive trees can decide to keep those trees or donate them to our partners, who will plant them in our district boundaries. And our donation partners are the City of Littleton and Arapahoe Community College,” Starkey adds.

The Littleton DDA partnered with Designs by Sundown to help source the trees and planter boxes, and for weekly maintenance. Still, Starkey knew how important it was to ensure the trees were lit up at night, so the City of Littleton, downtown property owners and the LDDA worked together to illuminate all 34 trees with holiday lights.

“That was the thing that kept me up at night the most, was whether or not we could light them,” Starkey says.

According to Falkenstine, the difference in holiday cheer was visible during the lead-up to Christmas in 2024.

“They're like, ‘Oh, these new trees, they're so good!' It just looks so much better,” she says.

“I walk down Main Street very often, and I see a lot of families taking pictures in front of the trees, or people doing their social media postings in front of the trees,” Starkey adds. “We've really been embraced pretty heartwarmingly by the community.”

For those of you looking to visit Littleton’s Main Street to see the festive trees, they will be up through January 31 before the lights are taken down and the trees are moved to their permanent homes.