For Marquette alumna Kait Schmidt Thabet and her husband, Amgad, Milwaukee has always been the heart of their story — from their first date at a Milwaukee Bucks game to their wedding in the Deer District. Now, a piece of their home will shine in that same plaza: their 38-foot Colorado blue spruce was selected as Milwaukee’s 2025 Christmas tree.
The couple, who live in Milwaukee’s Morgandale neighborhood, hadn’t planned on their front yard tree becoming one of the city’s most festive symbols. Amgad first learned about the opportunity by chance at work.
“I was just talking with coworkers about how big our tree was,” he recalls. “One of them said, ‘You know you can call the city and see if they want it for the Christmas tree?’ I didn’t even know that was a thing.”
Curious, he picked up the phone in July and called the Department of Public Works. Within an hour, city forestry staff were at their home to inspect the tree. A few months later, the couple learned their spruce had been chosen from a dozen submissions.
“It was a shocking moment,” Amgad says. “You don’t expect your front yard to suddenly be part of a Milwaukee holiday tradition.”
Though this year’s tree is smaller than 2024’s 64-foot display, city officials say its symmetry, color and fullness made it a standout. For Kait and Amgad, the tree selection has been both surreal and deeply meaningful.
“Marquette was how I fell in love with Milwaukee,” Kait says. “Milwaukee is where I went to school, started my career and met my husband. To be able to give something back to the city that’s given us so much is just the best feeling.”
After graduating, Kait built her event-planning company, Celebrait by Kait, here in Milwaukee. Many of her early clients were Marquette-connected, which reflects how the university community continues to shape her path.
“Essentially, my ‘amateur’ event planning career began at Marquette in various organizations, and then my early client base was purely Marquette based,” she says. “The network here is amazing. It’s one of the reasons we never left.”
Kait also credits her continued involvement with Marquette’s Young Alumni Association for helping her stay connected to the community.
That connection has only deepened through their ties to the Deer District. “Our first date was at a Bucks game in 2018,” Kait says. “Then we got married in the Deer District. For the city tree to end up there, it feels so serendipitous.”
The couple attended the Nov. 21 tree lighting ceremony with family, friends and even their dog, Zelda, who became an unexpected media star during the tree removal.
“This whole thing has been so random and fun,” Kait says. “It’s just something we’ll never forget.”
As the tree lights up the Deer District, Kait hopes it brings a sense of warmth and community to everyone who sees it.
“2025 has been a tough year for a lot of people,” she says. “So, if this tree can be a glimmer of hope and a reminder of joy and togetherness, then that means everything. It’s our way of sharing a little sparkle with the city we love.”
