Wishing tree offers candy canes and chance to leave a message of hope

Lezlie Puglia and family placed a red basket filled with candy canes, blank cards and wire hangers on the front patio wall just under the large tree in the yard.

The display is now known as the wishing tree. The idea was that anyone walking by could participate by writing their own Christmas wish.

“Take a candy cane and make a Christmas wish,” a sign says.

In parenthesis, it adds, “(if you’re shy it’s OK to just take a candy cane).”

It all started a couple of years ago when Puglia and her children decided to tie ribbons on a tree in a public park in Sacramento, where they lived. They tied the pen to a string along with an envelope containing extra ribbons, so that anyone who was so inclined could write their Christmas wish.

“In the wintertime all the leaves fall off the trees, and they look pretty bleak,” she said. “The ribbons look vibrant and very beautiful, making it a little more hopeful.”

Last year, after the Puglias relocated to Corona del Mar, they ventured out to Balboa Island, where they saw a tree full of candy canes along with a sign that said, “Have a candy cane and a smile.”

It was then that they decided to combine the two ideas by creating the wishing tree.

The tags are mostly made from recycled Christmas cards along with a few newly purchased gold, shiny cards.

Through the windows, Puglia sees people reading the wishes that others have written and also writing their own.

“I think it would be awkward to come out, so I wait and let them have their moment,” she said.

Overall, she said, the cards are pretty amazing.

“People mostly hoping and wishing for love and happiness for one another,” she said. “A couple of the tags say they want a dog, or want a job.”

Some people simply stop to have a candy cane and read what others have wished for. Charlie and Holly Jones stopped to enjoy the wishing tree while on their way to Sherman Library & Gardens. The Lake Tahoe couple, who were visiting family on Jasmine Avenue, thought it was fun to see what others had written.

“I hope this post will bring more people. The more who know about it, the more that will come by,” Puglia said. “It’s an easy thing to do. It feels good to put something down that, when other people come by, they may think it and hope it too.”

It seems the Puglias weren’t the only family with a wishing tree. Recently, NBC nightly news reported on a wishing tree in San Francisco.

“Next year we will add lights so it can be seen at night,” Puglia said.

Editor’s note: This piece was originally published on Corona del Mar Today.