Christmas trees a hot commodity in Waterloo region

Paul Kroes says his Christmas tree farm sold more trees in November than all of 2019.

"It's really kind of blown us away how early people are shopping and how many first time Christmas tree buyers were coming out this year," Kroes told The Morning Editionhost Craig Norris.

Kroes Christmas Tree Farm, which is just northwest of New Hamburg, has had to make some changes this year.

Even though tree cutting is an outdoor activity, people are asked to wear masks when they're near other people. The farm isn't selling refreshments this year and the washrooms aren't open.

'Brisk' sales

Perry Grobe of Grobe's Nursery and Garden Centre in Breslau sells pre-cut trees and he says sales have been going "very briskly."

He said many people came into the store early to get their trees because they were afraid of a potential lockdown in the region.

"We sold quite a few more trees in November than we usually would do as people wanted to get that out of the way early," Grobe said. "That was the only little surprise we had. It wasn't so much a surprise in the quantity, it was more a surprise in how soon it came."

He said the store had to change its setup to offer physical distancing in the store. They've changed the entire interior and while he says it was busy, people weren't crowded.

"We're pretty happy about that, that it went very well," he said.

Sold out on first weekend

On its Facebook page, the Optimist Club of New Hamburg also reported brisk sales of precut trees at the lot it sets up each year. The club sold out of their 300 trees on the first weekend.

"We have never sold out so quickly before," the club said on Facebook. "To everyone who managed to buy a tree, or sausage, we hope everything exceeds your expectations and we want to thank everyone for their overwhelming response to our tree lot."

First Elmira Scouting also reported selling out their trees quickly. The group started selling trees on Nov. 22 and they sold out on Dec. 5 in "a record sellout time," the group said on Facebook.

Benjamin Tree Farm in Waterloo opened Nov. 14 and has had a strong season so far. Owner Gerard Demaitertold CBC News he's sold out of cut-your-own trees, but is working on stocking a selection of pre-cut trees.

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More first-time buyers

Demaiter said he isn't surprised to see more people interested incutting their own Christmas trees as an excuse to get outside this year.

"Even families that have artificial trees are putting that away for the year and getting a real tree for the year just to get a little more festive, to get outside to enjoy the aroma and the freshness of a real tree," said Demaiter.

Demaiter said Christmas tree farmers have to be cautious about cutting down too many trees, which could leave them short-stocked for the next year. But he said people can still visit his farm without cutting down a tree. He welcomes families for photo shoots and snacks around a socially-distant campfire.

"Really, it's a nice, festive spot," he said.

And while everyone may be scrambling for trees this year, Kroes said it's hard to predict if the trend will last into 2021.

"Maybe everybody will go on a vacation and they won't want a tree," he said. "We'll cross that bridge next year."