Tree time in Newport

Barely out of her Cinderella costume that she’d donned for Halloween,

Tiffany Nolet, 3, was one of the first to inspect Fashion Island’s

Christmas tree Thursday.

“It’s as big as the one we have at home,” she said, taking sips from

her baby bottle, with her sister Chantal, 2, and mother, Cynthia, in tow.

The Nolets must have an impressive tree, because Fashion Island’s

white fir stands 115 feet tall. In fact, it’s the nation’s tallest and

dwarfs its counterparts at New York City’s Rockefeller Center, which

stands 80 feet tall, and the National Christmas tree in Washington, D.C.,

a mere 40 feet.

Weighing about 20,000 pounds -- two fully grown African elephants come

pretty close to that -- the tree still looked slightly naked early

Thursday.

But George James, who’ll work on the tree with about six other guys

for the next week, said that would soon change.

James and his colleagues will add about 1,500 branches to the tree’s

trunk to fill in the bald spots. Then about 17,000 white lights and

decorations will add the necessary sparkling touch.

Noelle Campbell, 10, who will celebrate her birthday two days before

Christmas, said she didn’t know the tree had to get extra branches.

Eating a quick meal with her mother, Elisa, before returning to

school, Noelle laughed when asked if her family’s tree stood just as

tall.

“No!” she said, adding that she won’t miss Fashion Island’s

tree-lighting ceremony at 6 p.m. Nov. 17. “But it turns out really nice.”

FYI

The tree-lighting ceremony will take place in Fashion Island’s

Bloomingdale’s Courtyard on Nov. 17. A Menorah Lighting Ceremony will

take place at 4 p.m. Dec. 21.