Some Fun Thanksgiving Facts for You:

• The Pilgrims' first Thanksgiving feast, in 1621, lasted three days.
• On October 3, 1863 Abraham Lincoln issued a "Thanksgiving Proclamation" that made the last Thursday in November a national holiday.
• In 1939, President Franklin D. Roosevelt changed Thanksgiving to the third Thursday in November, in order to make the Christmas shopping season longer and thus stimulate the economy. Two years later, he changed it to the fourth Thursday.
• In 1941, Thanksgiving was finally sanctioned by Congress as a legal holiday, on the fourth Thursday in November.
• There were no mashed potatoes at the first Thanksgiving dinner - potatoes were brought here later, by Irish immigrants.
• Turkeys were one of the first animals in the Americas to be domesticated.
• Benjamin Franklin thought the turkey a noble bird and wanted it to be the national bird of America, rather than the eagle!
• Native Americans used the red juice of the cranberry to dye rugs and blankets.
• Thanksgiving in Canada is celebrated on the second Monday in October.
• The pilgrims didn't use forks, they used spoons, knives and their fingers, so if anyone objects to your picking up that drumstick - tell them you are practicing traditional American table manners!

Almaden Valley Nursery is the place to find fresh Christmas wreaths, holiday door swags, candle rings, centerpieces, decorative arches and garlands. They will be available on Friday November 25th, with fresh, refrigerated shipments arriving on a weekly basis.

Our wreaths are made with noble fir or mixed greens, are available in 20", 22", 24", and 32" sizes, and are available plain or with cones and berries. Our mixed and cedar garlands come in 75 ft. rolls and can be purchased by the foot.

Our hand-made Christmas wreaths and decorations have become popular and tend to sell out early.

Celebrate the season in style with our Designer Poinsettias. You can be traditional or revolutionary — we give you plenty of options! Are you in the mood for spots or stripes? No problem. Feeling blue? Yes, we have blue poinsettias. Unique poinsettias are our specialty!

In addition to a large selection of red, pink, salmon, white and marble colored plants, we also have unique varieties with deep red flowers and silver white spots, as well as speckled peach and burgundy colors.

Holiday Greenery Christmas Trees is now open at Almaden Valley Nursery, featuring the fresh, high-quality, grower direct trees you have become accustomed to. Holiday Greenery offers Noble Fir, Grand Fir and is one of the only retail locations in all of the Bay Area to offer Fraser Fir.

New this year is the Nordman Fir, the best selling Christmas tree in the UK and Europe. The Nordman comes from the Caucusus Mountains separating Turkey from Russia and makes a wonderful cut tree.

We are currently receiving weekly shipments into the Nursery. Delivery is available for a nominal fee. We invite you to come visit us at the nursery and look forward to seeing you this holiday season.

Compact and unassuming, the Dwarf Pomegranate (Punica granatum 'Nana') is also colorful and versatile; the perfect ornamental!

It grows to 3 ft. high, spreading wider, and has lustrous green foliage that sets off bright orange flowers in spring and fire engine red fruit in late summer and fall. This rounded, compact, deciduous perennial is perfect for containers tucked into a sunny corner of the yard or as a bonsai.

Now is the ideal time to pick up a dwarf pomegranate from our Collector's Corner. It will settle into its planted spot until spring, when it will (unassumingly) surprise and delight you!

If you're looking for unique and tasteful ways to decorate your home for the Christmas holidays, we invite you to visit the Christmas Shop at Almaden Valley Nursery. We offer distinctive and attractive holiday items you won't find anywhere else. Whether for artificial Christmas trees, ornaments, gifts or home décor, we invite you to make our garden center your home for the holidays.

Artificial Christmas Trees

Christmas Ornaments

Christmas Gifts and Home Décor

Can't decide what to get that special person in your life? Stop fooling around and get the gift everyone is asking for: the totally awesome Almaden Valley Nursery Gift Certificate! The person you purchase it for will be forever grateful for receiving such a wonderful and incredible gift! Totally awesome AVN Gift Certificates are available in any amount, for any budget.

SJ (Sarah Jane) Phillips

SJ was born and raised in South Africa, where she quickly developed a love of nature and a sense of adventure. On a dare from a friend, she once climbed into the hippo pen at the Pretoria Zoo and spanked a hippo's backside.

She loves to travel and once was picked up by a crazy watermelon vendor while hitchhiking in Turkey. She has had her share of mishaps, with her car breaking down in the middle of a wild game preserve in South Africa and being stung by a scorpion.

She combined her talent for theft with her passion for wildlife by stealing turtles from poachers and releasing them back into to ocean with friends. Her favorite camping moment was eating fresh crab with a pair of pliers on the coast of Mozambique.

SJ enjoys the outdoors and, when not traveling to exotic places, enjoys hiking, tasting different foods, driving on back roads and getting lost with her hubby Graham.