At the corner of Main Street and 102nd Avenue NE stands a grand fir that was once 112 feet tall. It made it through two great fires in downtown Bothell and has been at the center of the town's holiday celebrations since the early 1930s. The tree is called Lucky, and the people of Bothell picked the name by vote. On Saturday, December 5, 2026, Santa will ride a decorated Bothell Fire Department truck to that corner and count down to switching on its lights.
Lucky lives on private property, and from the late 1970s until 2015 it stayed dark. The lights strung on it today are too tight and too dim for the tree it has become. Every holiday event downtown this year, from a wreath class at McMenamins to the tasting walks on December 12, is scheduled around a tree that needs people to keep it lit.
A Tree on Someone's Front Corner
Lucky was never city property. A history kept by the festival, compiled by Linda Dorsey of Bothell Main Street Antiques with help from the Bothell Historical Museum, says the land belonged to Dr. Elmer Lytle. In 1896 he built the Lytle House there as his home and office. The house was moved to Bothell Landing Park in 1974. It stands there today with the park's other historic buildings and is one of the oldest houses still standing in Bothell. If you're walking the Landing this month, you're passing the house that used to share a yard with the town's Christmas tree.
The McMenamins local-history account says Bothell first lit the tree in 1929, using more than 500 colored bulbs. The festival's scrapbook page says that from the 1930s until about 1978, different community groups took turns stringing the lights and set a large white star on top. At its peak the tree drew national attention. The scrapbook reproduces this line from LIFE magazine's November 1962 issue.
"The world's largest, living Christmas tree, it measures over 112 feet tall..."
Then the lights stopped. The scrapbook passes along a local rumor that moving the Lytle House disturbed the fir's roots. Within a few years the top of the tree showed signs of stress, and around 1979 it was topped to save it. McMenamins also places the loss of the top in the late 1970s. The tree that LIFE wrote about became a shorter fir on a corner lot that changed hands several times.
The tradition came back because the people who owned the corner decided it should. According to the scrapbook, the current owners felt it was time to light the tree again and return the Christmas Tree Lighting Festival to Main Street. On December 6, 2015, "almost 40 years later," the fir was lit again.
So the festival as Bothell knows it today has only been running for about a decade, even though the tree's first lighting goes back to 1929. The scrapbook also notes that Lucky has grown a new top since it was cut back. That growth is the reason behind the festival's current request.
Why Lucky Needs New Lights
The Light Up Lucky page on the festival site is written as a letter from Santa. It says windstorms have been hard on the tree, and that Lucky has grown so much that "his coat of lights is a little too tight, so his sparkle just isn't quite as bright." The goal for new lights is $42,000.
A tree that has regrown its top after being cut back in the late 1970s now needs more light strings than the one that was relit in 2015. The appeal suggests a few ways to help: donate online, ask friends to give, and print donation flyers to post where you have permission. Businesses or donors giving $1,000 or more, in cash or in-kind services, get their logo and a link on the festival site's footer banner.
The festival itself is a Northshore Rotary Foundation event and is always held on the first Saturday of December. So the money for Lucky's lights comes from Rotary volunteers, local businesses, and neighbors, which matches how the tree was cared for from the start.
December 5: The Festival's New Schedule
This year the festival runs on a changed schedule, with the market opening at noon and Santa arriving at 5.
| Time | What's happening | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Noon to 5 p.m. | Holiday Market with gifts, crafts and treats from local vendors | Downtown Bothell |
| 4 to 6:30 p.m. | Free goodies and kids' activities from local merchants | Downtown Bothell |
| 5 p.m. | Santa arrives on a Bothell Fire Department truck and lights Lucky | 102nd Avenue NE and Main Street |
| After the lighting | Selfies with Santa | First & Main Design Market, 10100 Main Street |
The market starts at noon and runs for five hours before the lighting, so you can treat the day as an afternoon of shopping that ends at the tree. If you want a good spot for the countdown, head to the corner before 5. The merchant activities run until 6:30, so families can stay downtown after the lights come on.
The Santa photos are at First & Main Design Market, a family-owned furniture and design business. It has a furniture showroom, custom live-edge tables, window treatments, original art, and full-service interior design. It's a short walk down Main Street from the tree.
The Weeks on Either Side
Lucky is lit for more than one evening. The festival site says the tree will be lit "every night from December 6th through New Year's." The other downtown events this season fall within reach of that stretch of nightly lighting.
Sunday, November 29. The first event comes a week before the lighting. McMenamins Anderson School is holding a Holiday Wreath Making Workshop at 2 p.m. in the Patty Murray Room. Advance tickets are $93, and all ages are welcome. It falls on the Sunday after Thanksgiving, so anyone who decorates early can have a fresh wreath up before the downtown events start.
Sunday, December 6. The day after the festival is the first night of nightly lighting. That morning, Anderson School holds its annual Breakfast with Santa, with seatings at 9 a.m. and noon. Tables of eight are $265. It's a longtime regular on the calendar, and it lands on the anniversary of the date Lucky was relit in 2015.
Saturday, December 12. One week after the lighting, the Bothell Kenmore Chamber hosts the Downtown Bothell Holiday Wine, Beer & Spirits Walk from 4 to 7 p.m. It's for ages 21 and over and includes tastings at participating downtown locations, shopping, and music. Tickets include tastings, a tote bag while supplies last, and a map and tasting guide. The same evening, FOLK at 10123 Main Place lists its own Santa's After Dark Holiday Wine Walk. In mid-December it's dark well before 7, so both walks end with the tree already lit for the night.
The Season at a Glance
- Nov. 29, 2 p.m.: Wreath workshop, McMenamins Anderson School
- Dec. 5, noon to 6:30 p.m.: Holiday Market, merchant activities, and the lighting at 5 p.m.
- Dec. 6: Breakfast with Santa at 9 a.m. and noon, and Lucky's first night of nightly lighting
- Dec. 12, 4 to 7 p.m.: Holiday Wine, Beer & Spirits Walk and FOLK's Santa's After Dark walk
- Through New Year's: Lucky lit every night at Main Street and 102nd Avenue NE
From December 5 on, any evening you spend downtown ends with the tree lit. Anyone who wants to help pay for brighter lights can find the donation page at bothelltreelightingfestival.com.
Downtown Bothell's December events are part of what makes this town feel like home, and I enjoy telling people about them, whether they've lived here for decades or just arrived. If you'd like to talk about Bothell over coffee on Main Street this season, or before the countdown on December 5, Maureen Rammell would be happy to hear from you. Let's Connect.
