Family uses same Christmas tree for 40 years: ‘It’s part of our family’

IRVINE, Calif. (KCAL/KCBS) - A California family has a holiday tradition unlike any other – they’ve been using the same Christmas tree for more than 40 years.

Gina and Joe Mistretta bought their family Christmas tree in 1983, and they’ve kept it alive ever since. The tree started as a small, potted Scotch pine and has lasted almost as long as the couple’s 46-year marriage.

“It’s been our only tree that we’ve had in our family,” Gina said. “It’s more than a tree. It’s part of our family.”

Over the years, the couple has nurtured the tree, trimming, watering and even repotting it several times. Their son, Michael Mistretta, says the tree is about seven years older than him.

“Seeing it, it just feels so wonderful that we raised this tree for many years, and it’s been part of our family our entire lives,” Michael said.

While the family acknowledges their tree isn’t perfect, they like it just the way it is.

“It’s kind of a time capsule of our life, places we’ve been,” Joe said. “When we travel, we’ll go buy an ornament and put it on the tree.”

The family says they try to bring the Christmas spirit of being kind and generous all year round.

“Christmas is celebrated as a holiday, but it really has to be something you keep in your heart all year round,” Joe said. “If more people did that, Christmas wouldn’t just be a day… it would be a spirit.”

Scotch pines typically live 150 to 300 years, so the family could pass the tree down from generation to generation.

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