With less than three weeks until Christmas, shoppers are racing to find the right tree — and this season a real tree may be the better bargain.
At Holt Family Christmas Trees in Los Angeles, customers hunt for pines, firs and spruces. Shoppers quoted prices other than the average: one tree listed at $199.95, though industry data points to much lower typical costs. Americans are expected to buy roughly 25 to 30 million real Christmas trees this year, and the Real Christmas Tree Board says the average price remains about $80 to $100 — roughly flat from last year.
One factor boosting demand for real trees: rising prices for artificial trees. Most artificial trees are manufactured overseas and subject to tariffs that can add roughly $10 to $15 to the price, according to the National Tree Company. Trees grown in Oregon and other parts of North America, including Canada, are exempt from those tariffs, helping keep real-tree costs competitive in some markets.
Sellers and buyers offer familiar reasons to choose a real tree: the fresh pine scent, the shopping tradition and the ritual of picking and hauling a live tree home. For many, real trees are tied to special holiday memories.
In one policy move mentioned by a seller, the Trump administration said anyone who wants to cut their own tree on federal lands can do so for a single dollar through the end of January, a change aimed at making Christmas trees more affordable for those who choose that option.