Famous firs

Take a peek at local celebrity Christmas trees

12/25/05

By CHARLOTTE BOECHLER

Take a peek at local celebrity Christmas trees

NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

"O Christmas Tree! O Christmas Tree!

How lovely are your branches?

O Christmas Tree! O Christmas Tree!

How lovely are your branches?

The News-Press asked local celebrities

To share with you what their families see

O Christmas Tree! O Christmas Tree!

How lovely are your branches?

The DeVorzons tree really rocks

Now that the kid stuff's in a box.

O Christmas Tree! O Christmas Tree!

How lovely are your branches?

The mayor opines about her pine.

The Rev. Howard's is quite divine.

O Christmas Tree! O Christmas Tree!

How lovely are your branches?

Roger Durling lets his dogs near his.

If only they'd leave the ornaments as is.

The Borgatellos' respects their biz.

O Christmas Tree! O Christmas Tree!

How lovely are your branches?"

Anne Howard, associate rector at Trinity Episcopal Church in Santa Barbara

Some people agonize over how they're going to decorate their Christmas tree. Not the Rev. Anne Howard.

She wings it.

"It's all angels," she said. "I have more than 200."

She's been receiving them as gifts every December from family and friends for her birthday since her mother started the tradition when she was just a baby. She's now 53.

"I started a new tradition for myself after my mom died. My mom's tree was always filled with birds -- I would give her a bird, she would give me an angel -- so every year I look for an angel holding a bird."

(She has several.)

There are ceramic angels, stained glass angels, wooden angels. Angels holding trumpets, angels in flight, angels in prayer.

"I love this one," said the Rev. Howard. "My son made this when he was in high school. This is an angel he made out of a cake of Sex Wax, which you put on your surfboard."

Sex Wax on a tree full of religious icons?

"Look at these," she said, pointing out a couple of cloth angels her girlfriend, a fellow churchgoer, made. "This one is called the 'Kiss Ass Angel,' " she added, pointing out the strategically placed lip print. "Next to 'Kiss Ass Angel' is 'Bad Ass Angel.' "

"She was tired of sweet angels," explained the Rev. Howard. "She wanted to do something a little sassy."

Mario Borgatello, president of MarBorg Industries

Mario Borgatello doesn't just get rid of one tree after the holidays. He gets rid of about 20,000.

Every year, crews at MarBorg Industries collect trees around town for recycling. Including his, which he gets with his family at Anthony's (although he picks up all varieties, he can't begin to tell you which kind his is). His wife, Judy, and daughter, Andrea, decorated it. It has white lights, plenty of Santa and snowman ornaments and red balls. All the traditional Christmas decorations.

Except tinsel.

"If you put tinsel on that tree, it's no longer recyclable," said Mr. Borgatello, adding that the tree must be in its original condition when it's put out with the other green waste for curbside pick-up.

He's not feigning interest in recycling because he has to. On a recent trip to Las Vegas, after seeing snow-covered trees inside the Bellagio's botanical gardens, he conducted an experiment just to see if they were environmentally friendly.

"The tree was full of artificial snow -- ground-up white plastic," he said. "We took it back to the hotel room and put it in the ice bucket (filled with melted ice) to see what would happen. We checked it 24 hours later. It didn't dissolve. If it was recyclable, it would have."

Marty Blum, mayor of Santa Barbara

Unlike others who struggle putting up their tree, Marty Blum's goes up in a snap.

And it's not because the city maintenance crew does it for her.

"They have enough to do already! They have to clean up De la Guerra Plaza!" she said.

Mrs. Blum and husband Joe actually bought a "fake tree," as she unaffectionately calls it, last year, something she's still grumbling about.

"I really like going and cutting down a tree at a farm. The smell, I love the smell," she said. "We tried incense last year. It didn't work."

She doesn't have time to pick out a real one with all her mayoral responsibilities. Looking at the tree -- plastic needles and all -- you wouldn't even know it's in the mayor's house. The folksy decorations hint at her role as a teacher (a student painted "Mrs. B" on a silver ball), stitching group member (needlepoint angel) and mother/wife/daughter (wooden Three Wise Men from a family friend). Only a couple hint at her role as mayor.

"That's from 'The Governator,' " she said, referring to a crystal seal of the governor from Arnold Schwarzenegger. "Two years ago he sent out Christmas ornaments.

"It was nice of him," she said flatly, suddenly sounding very mayoral-like. "I'm sure he didn't spend our taxpayers' money on it!"

Barry DeVorzon, Grammy Award-winning composer, and wife Jelinda, local philanthropists

"It's Christmas Once Again In Santa Barbara."

More specifically, in the home of Barry DeVorzon, who co-wrote the song, and his wife, Jelinda.

In the library, there's a garland of clear glass balls of all sizes adorning the mantel. In the kitchen, there are cloves steeping near the stove. And in the living room, there's a huge tree that looks like it's straight out of House Beautiful magazine, with hand-tied ribbons, musical notes (a tribute to Mr. DeVorzon) and magnolias (the official flower of Mississippi, Mrs. DeVorzon's home state) in shades of gold, cream and taupe to coordinate with the rest of the room, right down to the silk throw pillows on the sofas.

"This is the first year I did the more sophisticated look," said Mrs. DeVorzon. "My kids are grown up. I have an attic of all the ornaments they made."

Was there one really bad one?

"How about more than one?" chuckled Mr. DeVorzon. "We have three sons."

Added Mrs. DeVorzon: "But they all have special meaning to me."

So did she hang at least one?

"I didn't," Mrs. DeVorzon admitted. After a short pause, she added, "Now you're making me feel guilty!"

Considering the effort that went into making the tree more grown-up, how does she explain the wrapping paper under it -- whimsical Santas, candy canes, reindeer? Puzzled by the question, it's clearly the one thing she hadn't thought of.

"A lot of these were given to us," she insisted, referring to the presents. "Let's blame it on them."

Roger Durling, executive director of the Santa Barbara International Film Festival

Roger Durling and Michael Seabaugh's Christmas tree topper may have a long lacy gown and silver wings. But it doesn't exactly have the face of an angel.

"We have two French bulldogs. That's why we always put a French bulldog angel on top," explained Mr. Durling. "It's a hoot! I mean, look how solemn the face is. It takes its job really seriously, that little French bulldog angel. She's guarding the tree."

Or, at least, she was.

When we first visited Mr. Durling, he insisted the couple, whose Cape Cod-style home overlooks the ocean in Summerland, had no problem with their real dogs, Bedini and Binoche, knocking off any of their glittery white seashell or starfish ornaments.

That was then.

"They're attacking my Christmas ornaments!" said an exasperated Mr. Durling a week later. "I am constantly having to monitor now!"

Maybe next year when the couple get a tree, they should consider putting a real angel on top.