By Lee Cataluna
Advertiser Columnist

The rest of us may cram it all into a two-day frenzy, but at The Queen's Medical Center, they get ready for Christmas all year.

Barbara Sharp starts setting up for Christmas around Jan. 6. She's been a volunteer with The Queen's Medical Center Auxiliary Festival of Trees for more than 25 years. Every Monday and Wednesday from 8 in the morning until 3 in the afternoon, Barbara and the ladies stitch, stuff, paste and paint all manner of Christmas crafts in preparation for the big three-day Festival of Trees.

There are 24 ladies, and Barbara says, "Last year the average age was 73, and I know it's not going down."

And then there's Marty.

"Poor Marty," Barbara says. "We're always yelling at him."

Even Lydia Iwasaki, who has been volunteering for the festival for 45 years, admits to bossing Marty around, but, she adds, "In a nice way."

Marty Brinkman, 74, is the sole male elf on the Queen's crew.

"This always happens when your wife volunteers," he says. Eight years ago, his wife, Helen, agreed to help sew aprons, stockings and stuffed animals for the Festival of Trees. "Come September of that year, they needed someone to put the trees together. So of course she volunteered me for the job."

The trees come from kits and need to be assembled. Marty put the trees together, strung the lights and took extra care in hiding the electrical cords. Pretty soon, he was carrying boxes, moving things around and taking orders from the ladies. "He's tall and he can reach things," Barbara says.

After a while, Marty came up with a craft project of his own. Each year, he assembles a one-of-a-kind miniature Santa's workshop, which has been auctioned off for as much as $450. The Festival of Trees raises money for Queen's. One year, the money bought a new X-ray machine. This year, the money will go toward specialized neuroscience equipment.

There are tiny toys and presents in Santa's workshop and lights on a tree that work when you flip a switch. The roof alone is a work of art. Marty brings in pine cones from Lake Tahoe and uses the tips to make 1,400 individual shingles. Pretty good for a man who says he was never good with his hands. Marty was the senior vice president of Honolulu Mortgage for 15 years before retiring.

This is the first Christmas in 50 years Marty is spending without Helen, who died in February. Marty says he's doing OK. "I got these 24 young ladies to take care of," he says.

As soon as he's done with Festival projects, he's off to have Christmas in Colorado with his grandchildren.

The Festival of Trees is Dec. 5-7 at Ward Warehouse. Admission to the holiday bazaar is $1. Children 12 and under are free.

Lee Cataluna's column runs Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Reach her at 535-8172 or lcataluna@honoluluadvertiser.com.