There may be 10,000 ways to define Willow Glen, but this time of year, it’s all about holiday lights and Christmas Trees in your front yard. Following a completely unscientific drive around the neighborhood this week, WGx can define Willow Glen by the expansion of the yard tree phenomenon:

Trees are obvious from Highway 87, moving west to scattered neighborhoods west of Meridian. The southern boundary ebbs and flows this side of Foxworthy. While few people would drive north of the Los Gatos Creek trail to look at lights, a resident along Twin Brook Drive has invited folks to see their street in a recent email to the WGNA eList.

To be counted, a street had to have a noteworthy collection of yard trees. The ocassional solo tree down in Almaden Valey doesn’t count. And although they are impressive, the entire block of light-wrapped sidewalk trees on Willowbrook Avenue (south of Hillsdale) doesn’t count either.

Several houses on at least one street south of Jacob Avenue (well south of Meridian & Hillsdale) perhaps aspire to be Willow Glen, but not all of their neighbors are cooperating on the tree thing.

By the way, the WG Christmas Yard Tree tradition is credited to Frank Badagliacca, who passed away in 2004). He started staking “Charlie Brown” Christmas trees in yards in north WG, along Camino Ramon and Crescent Drive. Through the magic of the internet, it appears that the Christmas Yard Tree phenomenon now stretches all the way to Wauwatosa, Wisconsin (PDF). No pictures yet.