Christmas trees are selling fast again this year, and those who are selling trees in the region were prepared.
Sherry Anderson of Carbee Tree Farm in Greenfield has noticed that people have been buying their trees earlier than usual this year. “A lot of people missed out on getting a tree last year if they waited too long, and they were afraid they were going to be cut off [this year],” Anderson said while checking buyers out at the stand. “We’re not cutting off and we’re selling any size.” Carbee’s farm still has a lot of tall trees available.
Anderson’s father and grandfather founded Carbee Tree Farm in 1952; Anderson’s brother Hunter Carbee had been running the farm until he passed away last year, and it is now owned by brother Scott Carbee and Scott’s wife, BJ.
“We’re in a transition phase this year,” Anderson said. They plan to plant new trees this spring and they hope to clear out some of the trees that weren’t sold last year.
On Saturday it was drizzling and gray. “I didn’t think a lot of people would come out in the rain,” Anderson said. But she reported that the day had actually been very busy. Last Saturday, right after Thanksgiving, she said they were “extremely busy.”
Our Town Landscaping’s tree farm, Find-Us-Farm, has been busy this year as well. Owner George Lohmiller expects “we’ll be out of trees next weekend by the looks of it.”
Find-Us-Farm offers two cut-your-own fields and pre-cut trees as well as hand-made wreathes. Lohmiller believes people care about buying local. “They stay fresh for a long time,” he said.
House by the Side of the Road in Wilton has also seen a busy year. Store manager Abby MacFarland said it’s been “insane again. Everyone seems to be buying early … Last year we sold out of the fifth of December.” That was a record. In 2020, they sold out by Dec. 9.
This year, they were expecting another busy season, so “we got a couple hundred more trees,” MacFarland said.
House by the Side of the Road gets a load of trees from northern New Hampshire and a load from Canada for a total of 1,500 trees. By Nov. 1, employees were getting bows and wreaths ready to sell. MacFarland said people questioned if they were jumping the gun. “When it hits, it hits,” she said.
Peterborough Lions Club sells Christmas trees from Cannon, Vermont at Valley Automotive in Peterborough. Chair of the Lions Club Roland Patton said they were expecting a big year again this season.
“Last year we sold out in two weekends alone,” Patton said, so “this year we ordered another 20 trees.” The weekend after Thanksgiving, they sold 50 trees in one day.
“We used to take three weeks to sell out. It’s shorted up.” he said. The funds from the tree sale go to help a variety of charities in the area, including End 68 Hours of Hunger, MATS, Monadnock Worksource, the Peterborough Sunshine Fund and the River Center. Patton believes some people are motivated to buy a Lions Club tree because they know their money is going to organizations helping the community.
The Knights of Columbus Council 8544 has been selling Christmas trees at St. Patrick Church in Jaffrey since 1986, starting the sale the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Grand Knight John Stone said it used to take three weeks for the trees to sell out. Last year it took three days, which was the fastest they’d ever sold out.
This year, they sold out Sunday afternoon.
He said they see a lot of returning customers. They even have had people who have bought a tree and brought it back to New York because the prices are so much higher there.
The trees come from a farm in Colebrook, and Stone said shipping charges have have gone up considerably. It used to cost $300 to ship the trees to Jaffrey. This year it was $700.
Still, Stone was very happy with this year’s season and is thankful for everyone who bought their trees. “I think people are drawn to us because they know we’re local, raise a lot of money for charity. That’s our number one goal,” Stone said.
— Carbee Tree Farm is located at 341 East Road in Greenfield. They are open every day from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. until Dec. 22.
— Find-Us-Farm is located at 70 Elmwood Road in Hancock. They are open seven days a week, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. until they sell out.
— House by the Side of the Road is located at 370 Gibbons Highway in Wilton. They are open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day.
— Peterborough Lions Club has trees on a rack outside of Valley Automotive, 36 Elm St. in Peterborough.
— Stonegate Farm and Flowers at 84 Driscoll Road in Greenfield is open weekends from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. People can get pre-cut trees or cut their own.