For the seventh year in a row, when you buy a Christmas tree at the Benicia Historical Museum, the money will go toward two area nonprofits: the museum itself and Vallejo’s Genesis House.

Elizabeth d’Huart, the museum’s executive director, said the idea came from then-board member Toni Haughey in 2010.

“She saw a niche in the market and said ‘I think this would work really well here because we have the space, we have the parking lot, we have a place where they can set up a cash desk and we have this crew of physically fit men who can help us with the actual setup of the trees and assisting customers with getting the trees on their cars or to their homes.’”

The museum opted to partner with Genesis House, a Vallejo-based nonprofit organization which was founded in 1972 to help provide treatment to men and women experiencing substance abuse. Clinical manager Joel Ryan said the center had done work with the museum in the past, so an annual alliance would be beneficial to both of them.

“It just sort of made sense for us,” he said. “We would be able to offer the manpower and labor, and the joint venture would both help raise money for the Camel Barn nonprofit and our nonprofit. It’s a bit of an odd marriage, but it works relatively well.”

In addition to serving nonprofits, the fundraiser also allows customers to go home with sustainably farmed trees. The trees— which were delivered Monday from Noble Mountain Tree Farm in Salem, Ore.— are noble, Douglas and Nordmann firs that range in height from 2 feet to 12 feet. D’Huart describes them as “first quality trees.”

“‘First quality trees’ is not just a promotional term that we use,” she said. “It’s actually a Christmas tree industry term that connotes trees that are sustainably farmed but also conform to certain criteria in terms of shape and fullness.”

“Christmas trees are quite a labor intensive crop,” she added. “They have to be grown in such a way that the circumference of the base is in a certain proportion to the circumference of the rest of the tree.”

For this to happen, surrounding trees have to be cleared to let the sunlight in, and the trees have to be cut as they grow to assume the proper shape.

As in the past, children who attend will be rewarded. They will receive candy canes, coloring books and free museum passes with the purchase of the tree and will even have the opportunity to bring home a Charlie Brown-style Christmas tree for free.

Returning this year is Cally, the antique carousel camel, which kids can hang ornaments on and even write letters to put in a basket, which Cally will then deliver to Santa. For the first time this year, Old Saint Nicholas will be able to provide letters of his own to children.

“When parents come out to the Christmas tree lot, we let them know how we are getting those letters from Santa to their children,” d’Huart said.

Although some might be tempted to buy their trees in the parking lots of major retailers, d’Huart believes that buying from the museum has many advantages, including superior quality and reasonable prices.

“There’s plenty of room for parking, there’s assistance out on the lot which is pretty much unavailable at other box store Christmas tree lots, the sale of the Christmas trees benefits two nonprofit organizations who contribute much to this community and it’s a very pleasant family experience,” she said. “We now have people coming year after year who tell us it’s their Christmas tradition.”

The Christmas tree lot is the museum’s biggest fundraiser each year, and Ryan says it has been very important for both the historical institution and the Genesis House.

“The money we raise goes toward preserving this historical landmark, and it also goes toward helping addicts who suffer from addiction,” he said. “It’s a beneficial tree, it’s not just a tree.”

The lot will open on Friday, Nov. 25 and will run until Friday Dec. 23 but may close if all the trees sell out earlier. The lot will be open daily from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Celtic folk duo Men of Worth will perform a special holiday concert at the museum on Saturday, Dec. 3. For more information, call the museum at 745-5435.