Ladies Night Kicks Off Holiday Season at Garden Center

There will be wine tastings, appetizers and music for the third annual Merrifield Garden Center’s “Ladies Night,” but the main objective is to kick off the holiday shopping season.

From 6 p.m. through 9 p.m. Thursday, women can shop the center’s ornaments, trees and other holiday items. Kevin Warhurst, a manager at the center, said the event will go on simultaneously at their Fair Oaks, Falls Church and Gainesville stores.

“It’s been well received and attended,” Warhurst said Monday. “”It’s kind of a fun night. “

The Falls Church store is stocked with bows, ribbons and other must have decorations for the holiday season. Tim Gus, another manager at the garden center, said there have been 4,000 trees ordered for Christmas that will be sold at the three locations. Guy said there are some trees with the bulb on the lots now for sale.

The night kicks off the holiday season at the center. For the last 35-years, John Buckreis has helped construct the Winter Wonderland for Santa to come meet boys and girls at the Falls Church garden center. On Monday, Buckreis was organizing the wonderland, housed in an old warehouse at the garden center, moving decorations into place and sweeping as he moved along.

Buckreis, 82, said Santa gives him directions every year to set up the wonderland. One of the things Santa always requests, Buckreis said, is to have a place for children to write a letter.

“There’s a dual reason why they write the letters,” Buckreis said. “It moves the line along and parents get to see what their children are writing.”

Christmas trees will start arriving Monday, Guy said. They'll start at about $30. For the families that want a large tree for the outside of their homes, Guy said there would be plenty of trees big enough for that as well. Guy said he expects families to really start coming in the weekend after Thanksgiving.

“They come in with their families and take pictures with the kids in front of the trees with Christmas hats on and stuff,” he said.