Real or fake: Which tree Avalanche players put up for the holidays
Whether they have a real or fake tree, a few of the Avalanche players get a bit carried away with holiday decorations.
Avalanche players are in the holiday spirit and some have taken their decorations to new heights.
"I've been driving my fiancee and everyone who's been to my place crazy already with all my stuff," forward Ryan Johansen told The Hockey News' Colleen Flynn. "I've been consistently adding things as we've been going along."
The 31-year-old forward isn't the only Christmas-crazy decorator. Jack Johnson said Christmas decorations were going up before the Thanksgiving table was cleared off. But he defers to his wife for the decorating since he said she is fantastic at it.
"Definitely one of my favorite holidays. It's something I look forward to all year. Winter's kind of a downer when it's over," Johnson said.
It may not be the same experience with a fake tree compared to a real tree, but some players have to do what's easiest for themselves and their significant others.
"I prefer the real just for the smell. Practicality of it, fake trees are pretty nice. You put them together, and stow them away and they're ready to go again next year. But real trees are pretty fun," Johnson said.
Although Bowen Byram said he has a fake tree this season, he likes a real tree. Growing up in British Columbia, he and his family would go to the woods and chop down a real Christmas tree, he said.
Mikko Rantanen was the only player asked to have a real tree. He said he loves the smell and helps decorate, but has to put the star on top since, as he said, his girlfriend can't reach.
Post-Thanksgiving is the standard time to start decorating for Christmas, but Ross Colton and his girlfriend had to make an exception.
"I love Christmas, I love the holidays. My girlfriend went home for like a couple weeks before Thanksgiving so I made sure that she helped me decorate before," Colton told Flynn. "So we've had our tree up for like weeks now just because I knew she was going to be gone and I knew that I wasn't going to be able to do it all myself so the whole apartment's already Christmas'ed out even probably two weeks before Thanksgiving."
Cherry Creek, a suburb in Denver, is known for its lights and street market put on during the holiday season every year. Colton said he and Johansen took a stroll through the market after it open, which Johansen most likely did not leave empty-handed.
Logan O'Connor has a fake tree for convenience, which he and his family have a tradition of what goes on it.
"My family every vacation or trip we go on, you grab an ornament from wherever you were," O'Connor said. "So our tree isn't quite there yet, but hopefully in 10 years it'll be filled with unique ornaments from the trips we've taken."
The Avalanche have nine games at Ball Arena in December and are enjoying being home for most of the month. Hopefully the joy can be spread throughout the team's games for some holiday cheer for the fans too.