Christmas trees for U.S. troops overseas

Loading Video…

This browser does not support the Video element.

Call it tradition. For the 13th year, Dees' Nursery and DHL are making sure troops overseas receive Christmas trees. Included in this special delivery are thousands of handwritten cards with heartfelt messages from kids across Long Island.

Santa and one of his elves welcomed volunteers on a Tarmac at JFK Airport to load the trees and trimmings. The final destinations are U.S. military bases in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Kuwait.

The plane is expected to leave the airport Monday night. It will stop at DHL's international hub in Cincinnati before taking off for Bahrain. The trees and cards will be distributed to troops across the Middle East as early as Wednesday.