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Polis Report

Evergreen With Envy By Bernice Yeung Like most everything else these days, the holidays can no longer be simple. Even tree trimming, the last of homey holiday events, has been invaded. Boxes of ornaments half-wrapped in old newspapers and strands of tattered tinsel will go unused this year, because now it's fashionable to put up a tree that makes a statement. Today's tree must rival the designer ornamentation of the tannenbaums at Valley Fair; it must put the amateur jobs of local schoolchildren at Christmas in the Park to shame. Happily, Dr. Christmas Productions is ready to help. The company known as the "tree stylist to the stars" has nursed more than 2,500 festive firs into blinking, bow-tied boughs of glory over the past 12 years. True to its name, Dr. Christmas Productions--the brainchild of aspiring actors Bob Pranga and Debi Staron--even makes house calls, providing 24-hour holiday crisis service for those unfortunate holiday mishaps where, say, Uncle Jim has a few too many toddies and falls into your prized creation. But never mind, Dr. Christmas has seen worse. Dr. Christmas' clientele reads like the cover of a National Enquirer: Bob Hope, Delta Burke, Linda Evans and Ronald and Nancy Reagan. As it turns out, a tree is like a room in your house, and must have a personal theme: angels, horses or vintage cars. Indeed, it's not hard to imagine a Nancy Reagan tree with a Western motif: little shiny handguns, horse miniatures, bandanna bows. In hopes of expanding its demographic this year, Dr. Christmas has entered the living rooms of the masses through a series of step-by-step tree-decoration videos, all available by calling 310/854-0886. Now everyone can have a tree to make the neighbors--and the stars--evergreen with envy. [ Metro | Metroactive Central | Archives ]