FLLewis/A Writer’s Groove
Two shoppers purchased a fresh Chrstmas tree at a Burbank lot and then stuffed it into a convertible VW.
Shoppers are cutting back on a lot of things this holiday season, but apparently that does not include natural Christmas trees. I can’t really blame them. Artificial trees are economical. Yet, you don’t get that special fragrance and feel of a real Christmas tree.
A quick check around the Internet shows natural tree sales are up in 2008. The National Christmas Tree Association says 25-35 million real Christmas trees are sold each year. The association’s website claims for every real Christmas tree harvested three new seedlings are planted. Also, the website lists the most popular Christmas trees as balsam fir, Douglas fir, Fraser fir, noble fir, Scotch pine, Virginia pine, and white pine.
I spotted two shoppers maneuvering a Christmas tree into the back of a convertible VW on November 30, at the Evergreen Christmas Tree lot on Glenoaks Boulevard in Burbank. The small trees were selling here for $19.95 and some of the larger ones for as much as $200. And even on this early date, I saw a steady stream of folks picking out Christmas trees and carting them off.
Christmas is less than two weeks away, so this weekend the Christmas tree lots should be packed with eager shoppers.
