The Festival of Trees has returned to the Orlando Museum of Art and will be on display now through Nov. 18.

I attended the event this past Sunday and must admit it’s a great way to get into the holiday spirit. Not only do they have dozens of professionally decorated themed trees on display, but the event offers performances by holiday carolers, visits with Santa, a display of the gingerbread creations made by the best chefs in town, and more.

It’s easy to “ohh and ahh” over the Christmas trees, especially with price tags that range from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand. The gingerbread houses too, the most expensive of which was sponsored by Isleworth Country Club and sported a price tag of $2,000. It easily is more than a house - more like a gingerbread mansion.

A special edition to this year’s Festival is the debut of an exhibit of holiday greeting cards from the White House that date back to the early 1900s. The exhibit is in honor of the event’s special guest speaker, Mary Evans Seeley, a White House Christmas memorabilia expert who will speak at the event Nov. 12 at 11 a.m.

One special event that took place at the festival this past weekend was Winter Bark Village, a showcase of high-end doghouses, some of which featured air conditioning, hardwood floors, crystal chandeliers and other must-have amenities for yuppie puppies.

For pictures, check out the gallery on the Holiday Season in Orlando page.

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