There is no faking it when it comes to the Minnesota Christmas tree industry. Christmas tree growers across the Land of 10,000 Lakes are already seeing the rush as a late Thanksgiving means fewer weeks to keep the tree up through Christmas Day.
One of the dozens of cut-your-own tree farms in Minnesota is the Hansen Tree Farm in Anoka. For nearly seven decades, the thousands have traveled to their tree farm to take home their holiday fixture..
"Planting begins at the end of April and lasts into May," Hansen said. "They're all hand planted by juniors and seniors in high school. After that, the weeds start coming up, it gets warmer outside, and out come the bugs."
The seasonal planting helps replace some of the 1,500 trees that are sold during the holiday season.
"It didn't used to be that way," Hansen said. "Before we had our irrigationo system, we would plant 1,000 trees and half of them would be dead within the first year. That's how climate change has impacted us."
The unpredictable climate impacts Christmas tree farmers the way it does any other kind of agriculture producer. That holds especially true in 2019, which is Minnesota's wettest year on record.
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Aside from the trees at Hansen Tree Farm, there are hayrides, campfires to keep you warm, and a fresh breath of winter air.
"The cut-your-own Christmas tree places, wherever they are, give people the Christmas experience," Hansen said. "It's the togetherness, the family, and the time spent outside...people get out of their cars and spend some time here and say to me, 'It's magical.'"