The giant "Sandi" Christmas Tree in West Palm Beach, Fl. The tree is made with 700 tons of sand as part of the "Holiday in Paradise" event produced by the West Palm Beach Department of Parks and Recreation

Many people might have the misconception that Parks and Recreation Departments are mainly busy during the summer months.

They certainly are with local citizens flocking to parks to dine alfresco at picnic tables, play or watch baseball games, swim in a community pool or participate in an arts program at the rec center.

And then there's all that grass that needs to be cut, flowers to be planted and trees to trim.

However, many parks and recreation departments are busy year-round.

And during the end of the year and the holiday season, they are particularly busy.

Take the National Park Service itself. This massive department has 20,000 employees who manage more than 84 million acres of national parks.

But few Americans might know that the NPS is also responsible for the installation of the National Christmas Tree and the official lighting ceremony in Washington, DC. That ceremony is a big one, because for the past 97 years, the tree has been lit by the current president and attended by other dignataries.

In addition, there is a whole night filled with songs provided by a number of musical acts. In fact, those acts appear at the Ellipse Park for a few weeks after the lighting, providing free entertainment to the public.

Local park departments provide holiday events

Now, realize that many holiday events are also managed by the parks and recreation department on the local scale.

Take the Holiday in Paradise event organized by the City of West Palm Beach Parks and Recreation Department in Florida. This event is highlighted by "Sandi" - a Christmas Tree covered with lights that is made with 700 tons of sand.

In fact, some of those events typically run by the local parks and recreation department include:

• Christmas markets, festivals and decorations
• Menorah lightings
• Winter Solstice festivals
• Diwali celebrations
• Chinese New Year events

People depend on their communities to organize and host these events.

According to a recent study by the National Recreation and Parks Association, they found FOUR out of FIVE adults want their local towns to provide these holiday activities.

Parents obviously are the most interested in this service and 67% say this is extremely or very important to them.

Millennials are also one of the population segments that believe these events are very important in their town.

That makes sense since entities such as the local parks and recreation department are probably best equipped to create these events, as they do in the summer months.

But still, it's quite a bit of work.

Hopefully, local citizens don't take these events for granted and realize the efforts that parks and town personnel put into making their holiday experience a pleasant one.

Park activities generate billions for the economy

There's another side to all of this activity.

The money it generates.

In fact, if town leaders start to fret over funding for local park events, including winter events, they might want to consider these statistics.

In another NRPA study, it was found that local parks generate $154 billion in economic activity every year.

(This does not include national parks which is a whole different category and attracts out-of-town visitors and a sizable number of tourists).

That activity supports 1.1 million jobs.

Think about it. Every time a local parks and recreation department hosts a holiday event, many dollars are circulated around town.

Families spend money on local vendors, food trucks, restaurants, gas stations, and other places.

When you consider all the parks and recreation departments across the country, those numbers add up. Significantly.

About $90.9 billion is for operations spending and that supports an estimated 723,000 jobs.

The other part is capital spending: buying new picnic tables, park benches, roofs, lawnmowers, aluminum bleachers, etc.  That supports 378,000 jobs.

(However, that does not include the companies downstream in the process, such as the manufacturers of those picnic tables, park benches, aluminum bleachers, lawnmowers, etc.)

"Park and recreation agencies nationwide welcome every member of the community through a variety of events and celebrations during the holiday season," said Kevin Roth, NRPA Vice President of Professional Development, Research and Technology. "These events highlight the great diversity found in our communities and give everyone the opportunity to experience the different cultural traditions celebrated this time of year."

So this holiday season, when you go to a local event, think about the people, either from your parks and recreation department or another municipal department, who work hard to make these events enjoyable for their fellow citizens.

Maybe even give them a big "thank you," mail a letter or post a note of gratitude on your social media pages.

That would certainly be a nice holiday gift to the people who make all this happen.