Why Christmas Trees Are More Expensive This Year — And What You Can Do

O, Christmas tree! O, Christmas tree! How pricey are thy branches!

Over the last several years, the U.S. has seen a drastic increase in how expensive real Christmas trees are, and the reasons come down to simple economics: supply and demand. Oh, and the Great Recession.

If you’ve been looking for a tree at your local Christmas tree lots and have been unimpressed with either the quality or the price of the tree, then our blog today can help explain why. And the solution? Buy a Christmas tree online from Gigi Seasons! Our large, artificial Christmas trees look so real that all of your guests will be doing double takes.

The Great Recession

If your favorite talk show or a random article you’ve seen has brought up the 2007 recession as a reason why trees are more expensive now, then they’re right! Right before the recession hit in late 2007, Christmas tree suppliers were expecting an increase in demand and grew the trees accordingly. Instead, though, sales plummeted and the number of unbought trees skyrocketed. As a result, growers planted fewer trees the following seasons.

However, a Christmas tree takes more than a year to grow, of course. The trees planted that year are, finally, tall enough to be the Christmas tree sitting on a lot. However, they planted fewer so there’s a smaller supply — meaning the cost is higher.

More Profitable Crops

Some growers abandoned the Christmas tree business altogether as a result of the hard hit from the recession. Many Christmas trees are grown in the Pacific Northwest. Instead of planting pines, blue spruces, and other classic holiday trees, growers opted to plant more profitable crops such as hazelnuts or even marijuana.

This means that the recession didn’t just affect the number of trees that were planted in 2007 and 2008; it also affected how many trees were planted in subsequent years because growers left the industry to plant a more lucrative crop. The outcome? Don’t expect Christmas trees to be more affordable any time soon — there weren’t enough trees planted for years after the recession to keep up with the popular demand.

Buy A Christmas Tree Online From Gigi Seasons

So what’s a person to do if they want to get in on the holiday spirit with a tree trimmed with some decorations bought at Tiffany’s (or any other fancy Christmas ornaments)? Look into realistic, artificial Christmas trees, of course!

Real-looking artificial Christmas trees aren’t actually that hard to find — if you know where to look. Stop searching “where to buy artificial Christmas trees.” You’ve found the place! Our lifelike Christmas trees are just what you need to take your holiday to the next level, and even Santa Claus himself would be proud!