What’s the word on cut trees this year? Shortage like everything else??
We’ve had a few years like that, and I agree that if it helps to have some Christmas cheer then you should have it now. Play We Need a Little Christmas from Mame. Better yet, watch the whole movie.
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Just saw a gorgeous artificial tree at Lowe’s for $398 that we will buy it & put up this week because our family will be split up & travelling in different areas of the country for both Thanksgiving & Christmas & New Years Day. (Last year Lowe’s quickly sold out of the same or similar model tree & we are concerned that the supply chain back-up may result in a smaller number of available artificial trees.)
@abasket I haven’t heard anything yet. Our trees mostly come from NC tree farms so I wonder if there will be any issues. I think it would depend on if there are driver shortages (I’m in MD so they are trucked in). We do have tree farms here but not as many as in years’ past as some closed down, including the one where we used to cut down our own tree.
Ours is a potted tree that lives in the garden year round. It is brought into the garage about a fortnight before Christmas to acclimatise a little (and to lose some of the insects) and is put up somewhere between a week before and Christmas Eve. We take it down and reverse the process at Epiphany. The timing is a compromise between my husband’s family tradition of a fortnight before and my family’s tradition of Christmas Eve. We still do the bulk of the decoration close to Christmas Eve, leaving the greenery as late as possible.
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We could cut a tree in our backyard since we live in the Maine woods, but it wouldn’t look as nice. We did do it one year.
We usually put it up mid-December, although when youngest was in college, we waited for him to come home for the holidays. Probably second weekend in December. We buy from a local farmstand/garden center even though it is somewhat pricey, as we want to support this local business.
I can’t remember, are you west coast or east coast? I think the west coast (Oregon) trees may have had some bad weather issues. North Carolina trees are looking good, but about 15 yrs ago when the economy was down not as many got planted so we felt the dip from that last year. Might still be feeling that this year too. I would not wait until Christmas Eve to get it. Places did run out last year even here in NC.
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Lol, Midwest! - Ohio. I think a lot of the trees come from NC or maybe like Kentucky-ish??? We have often got ours at Costco so they come trucked in.
Fires on the west coast the past several summers may affect supply. My friend outside Portland reports that her neighbors who used to grow Christmas trees have switched over to marijuana, as it’s more profitable. Data point of one, but certainly not something I would have thought about 10 years ago…
California tree farms have suffered from both the drought and fires, and are in reduced supply. They did find a tree for the White House, however!
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I don’t think Kentucky grows that many Christmas trees, but they grow them in PA. Didn’t Taylor Swift grow up on a Christmas tree farm? NC and Oregon are by far and away the largest producers of Christmas trees, harvesting millions a year. I think NC is about 4.5 million and Oregon is about 6.5 million.
The White House Christmas tree is a NC tree again this year. That California tree is not going the White House. Looks like it’s going to Congress.
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You’re right; it’s the Capitol Tree aka The People’s Tree.
According to U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree, the tradition of the Capitol Christmas Tree, or “The People’s Tree,” began in 1964
There’s also a National Christmas Tree on the Ellipse.
My NH brother cuts down a tree from their huge property every year. They are the spindliest things ever. I think they look terrible, but they have convinced themselves they like the open look. (I just smile and nod when they tell me how much they love it.)
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You’re a good sister! 
I like the Euro “open” look - the ornaments are more visible. We used to cut “garbage” Doug firs that were sprouting in our backyard until we ran out of them. We would let the better looking ones grow for 3-4 years, then cut and use as our trees. 
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Sometime after December 20th. My job is to hunt and gather tree, bring it through front door , set it up in the stand, bring up the decorations from basement, and swearing. Kids/ wife do the decorating, usually without swearing. We all share in the watering.
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We get a fresh tree shipped to us from a tree farm and it will arrive around December 11. We’ll take it down around January 3 or so. We really enjoy the tree and how it looks and smells. I had to scramble a bit this year to find a tree farm with inventory, even though I thought I started early. This year’s tree is coming from Michigan.
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Interesting article:
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