With Thanksgiving now in the rear view mirror and Christmas less than four weeks away, it's just about that time for people to head to their local plant nursery or tree farm to get their Christmas trees.
While plenty of people have not yet bought their trees for the holiday season, some people have been getting out sooner than usual to get their Christmas trees.
"They seem to be coming out a little bit earlier. We set up a week earlier, so people are actually buying them before Thanksgiving again this year," said Rebecca Doel - operations manager for Adams Nursery in Lancaster.
Mary McCulloch from Trevett Tree Farm in Springville has also noticed a flux of people coming out to get their Christmas trees earlier than usual. It is about a week sooner than usual, especially for people in the Southern Tier.
"Our two-busiest weekends are going to be the first two weekends in December. That's when most people come out to get their Christmas trees," McCulloch said.
With there being supply chain shortages all across the globe, some people may be concerned about there being a shortage in Christmas trees. Both Doel and McCulloch have acknowledged there have been concerns for a shortage of trees, both locally and nationally. However, the hope is that everyone that wants to get a Christmas tree this year can get one.
"The sizes are a little bit different than they have been in the past. They seem to be a bit larger than they have been in the past years," Doel said. "The smaller ones aren't readily available, and the variety isn't there. We have Frasers and [Douglas Firs], but any with the Concolors and the Scotch Pine aren't available at all right now."
So with the shortages in some trees this year compared to years past, does that mean the prices have gone up?
"They've gone up a little bit, just like everything else. It's not dramatic, but there are slight increases," Doel said.
"We've tried really to keep things the same, but we have had a small increase in our prices just to keep up with inflation and to make sure that we can keep up with our expenditures. They have risen, as well," McCulloch said.
So what have both businesses been noticing, in terms of what people are spending their money on or what hot items are going quicker out of stock?
"They've been buying a little bit more of, I guess, the live Christmas trees," Doel said. "The little Baby [Blue Spruces], they're in pots instead so they can plant later. Different trends, I haven't seen anything. The wreaths, the poinsettias and all those are standards. Boughs and fresh greens might be a little bit of an issue this year, because there's not a lot available because they're using them to make all the fresh wreaths."
"Buffalo plaid is definitely still a major trend. People love Buffalo plaid, it is so cute. I love to decorate my wreaths with Buffalo plaid," McCulloch said. "For trees, people definitely still like their soft-needled fir trees - Fraser fir, Balsam fir, Canaan fir, even some Concolor fir. But there are still some Blue Spruce people out there. Even though they are a little bit on the prickly side, they have a beautiful blue color."
So what other events are going on this season at both venues that will get the people out to buy their Christmas trees?
"We do have the reindeer... Santa's live reindeer are here," Doel said of what's happening at Adams Nursery. "And for the next three weeks, I am going to have food trucks every weekend here."
As for what's going on in Springville, McCulloch says she's trying to add a little bit more every year for her customers.
"This year, I started doing wreath making classes at the farm," she said. "We also do a Santa Claus Christmas tree delivery for anybody that would like to have their tree delivered to their door by Santa Claus and his helper elf. We also have horse-drawn sleigh rides at the Christmas farm. This year, those will be Dec. 4 and Dec. 11 from 11 a.m. EST to 3 p.m. EST. Those are free horse-drawn rides through the tree farm."
If there is any advice for people who have not gotten out yet to buy their Christmas tree this holiday season...
"Shop early, shop local, because once it's gone - we've pre-ordered a lot - it will be gone," Doel said. "The suppliers, on like the poinsettias and stuff, the orders are pre-booked, so we can't get any real additionals."
