Small tokens of the holiday spirit are often greatly appreciated at this time of year, and Colorado Native Christmas Trees owner Tony Smith believes a small taste of a Colorado Christmas might be a nice addition for families with patients at The Children's Hospital in Denver. "I figured they might not have room for larger trees wherever they were staying, so I brought down about a hundred trees less than two feet in height," said Smith, the self-professed "king of the Charley Brown Christmas trees." These native Christmas trees from Colorado forests are being provided free of charge by Smith to the families of patients at the hospital. And removing these small lodgepole pines, Douglas firs and spruce trees for holiday trees also serves an important role in maintaining forest health in our state, as it makes way for larger trees to grow more vigorously and resist insects and disease. Kathleen McBride, the volunteer director at the hospital, said the facility serves such a large region that patient families are often far from home over the holidays. But a similar Halloween program with free pumpkins, she said, has also been known to bring good cheer to patient families, she said. Smith is part of a growing effort to replace imported plantation-grown Christmas trees with the Colorado forest-grown trees, which is supported by Colorado Forest Products, a statewide consumer awareness effort funded by the Colorado State Forest Service and the USDA Forest Service. To learn more about the effort, or to find a native tree outlet near you, please visit www.coloradoforestproducts.org