Average cost of a real Christmas tree

[kyra's mommy]

We bought a beautiful pre-lit Christmas tree about 7 years ago. It's still really nice but I've never had a real tree. Is it foolish to buy one for this year? Are they very expensive? How do you take care of it, do I need a special stand for a real tree?

 

[englishteacha]

As for cost, it depends on your location. It's $20-50 here in the Northeast. Yes, you need a special stand for it. You can get them at Walmart, Lowes, Home Depot, the hardware store, etc. You need to keep it watered. As it ages it will drop sprills, so make sure you have a working vacuum! Oh, and cut a bit off the bottom when you get it home and before you put it in water. Like cut flowers, the bottom "seals" after a while, so by giving it a fresh cut you ensure it will get plenty of water.

My other advice? Christmas trees look smaller outside. The first year we bought a tree, it was so big it hit our TV stand on one side of the room and the sofa on the other. Oops. We've gotten much better at getting a tree that fits in our living room.

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

I don't know about the cost but you do need a real tree stand so you can water the tree.

Growing up, we had to water ours every evening.

You will also want to have the bottom cut on the tree either done at the tree place when you buy it (some do that) or you have to do it at home. It breaks the seal and allows the tree to accept water.

We also hit the ground with it a few times before trimming the bottom and bringing it inside. That allowed any critters to get out like the year a mouse ran out. The outside cat really loved that.

We also let it sit in the house, in the stand for 24 hours before decorating so the branches would fall nicely. The trees we usually got had been tied tight and in the cold so they weren't nicely spread out.

And are you sure you aren't allergic to pine trees? Or anyone in your household? Growing up I was always miserable the month of December. I figured it was just a long cold.

Until I got tested for allergies and found out pine pollen was one of my big triggers. LOL

 

[MomToOne]

Cost usually varies by the type of tree, and how tall it is.

For a 5-6' Noble here in N. CA, I can pay anywhere from $30-$60. This year they are $35 at HomeDepot and $50 at a tree lot I often go to (larger selection, sometimes fresher trees). Douglas Firs are cheaper, but I don't like them as much. There are other types of trees too depending on what area of the country you are in, and where you happen to be shopping. One word of advice: you don't need as big a tree as you think you do when you are out on the lot looking at them all. An almost 6 foot tree, once in my stand and with a tree topper on, fills my room with standard 8 foot ceilings just fine.

Google ways to figure out if you are getting a "fresh" tree or not - there are various techniques that people swear by. I personally just see how hard it is to pull the needles off the branches (they should give a little fight) and test to see if the needles (once they are pulled off) bend in half without breaking.

 

[BeachLove]

About $100 gets you a nice tree and a stand. If you want a fancier tree I've spent up to $120 for just the tree.

 

[curseofcurves]

The Kroger near me had a small selection of trees - 6'-7' for $30 and 8'- 9' for $40. A family member just bought a 9' tree from one of the Boy Scout troops set up in a parking lot and paid $90 for it. Unbelievable how expensive they are!

 

[foltzy]

We pay between $35-$50 for our tree every year. We go to a tree farm and they cut it down right then and there. We still cut off the bottom and wait 24 hours for it to settle before we decorate. We don't have to water as much and we don't have needles everywhere. I always remind my husband to bang that puppy on the ground before it come in too, just in case.

 

[ceecee]

$30 will get you a nice sized fresh cut tree in our area. Make sure it's freshly cut so you would loose as many needles. If you get a pre-cut make sure you saw off a few inches of the trunk so it can soak water better (we date them and save them). Pound it to get the loose needles off and really look for bugs. We had such a mild winter and no frost to kill the little buggers this year we're using our artifical. My girlfriend woke up one year to find 100's of little black spidery bugs crawling up her white curtain from her tree!!!
Check out Goodwill for a stand, we saw quite a few at ours.

 

[AuroraRosesMom]

Price can vary on location. In Florida, trees cost a little more than they did when we lived in Ohio (only 3 years ago.) In Florida, we have spent about $45 or $50 for a decent tree each year. In Ohio, it would have been about $10 less for a comparable tree. My biggest advice is get the proper sized stand for the tree. We've had a few years where we had to get creative with the stand because it was a little too small, and we were too stubborn to buy a new one. lol! Real trees are very nice though, so enjoy your real tree!

 

[pigletto]

We usually get our trees from the corner store near us. Sounds weird but they bring them from the huge Christmas tree farm about an hour away and they are always lovely. They start at $25 and go up to $40 depending on the type.

We went to get our tree tonight and they didn't have them yet. I wanted to get our tree tonight because it's a very busy weekend with things we have scheduled and the only time to decorate it is Sunday after dinner. It needs time to fall as someone else mentioned. It's dropping in the garage now, it will go in the stand in the living room tomorrow night, and will be ready to decorate Sunday. We ended up going to the grocery store and got a 6.5 ft tree for 19.99

Definitely shake it out, and then make the clean cut on the bottom. We put ours in the front window and there is a heat vent right there so we need to check the water level every day. It will dry out some but isn't too bad. And be prepared to find needles in cracks and crevices for the rest of the year no matter how hard you tried to get them all

ETA) We also have a good stand and a small hook in the window sill. Not ideal, but we use it to balance the tree with twine and secure it to the hook to prevent it leaning too much.

 

[PrincessMickey]

We always go into the National forest about an hour and a half away and cut our own tree down. They have restrictions on exactly where you can go but the permit is $10. It's more when you factor in gas but makes a fun day trip and gets you out in the fresh air for awhile. We went last weekend and made a day out of it going out for a late lunch when we were done!

 

[sharon_wv]

We are in the suburbs of Washington DC and cut our own tree down at a Christmas tree farm. The last couple years it was about 75-80 dollars. We bought a Fraser fir (I think that's what it was)

 

[kyra's mommy]

After I posted this I had to go the grocery store. I needed to pick up the ingredients for my knock off Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana ( yum ). Anyway, there was a Christmas tree lot right next door. So I checked it out and the prices seem right in line with what you guys are saying. The stand's were another $15.

I'm so glad I asked you all these questions even though I checked out the lot. I would have never thought to trim the bottom of the tree, I wouldn't have known to let it sit a couple of days, AND most important I wouldn't have known to knock it on the ground to shake loose any critters!

I've so enjoyed all your posts. Such a happy topic.

 

[foreUT]

An added benefit of the real tree, imo: your house smells wonderful.

 

[marthachick]

An added benefit of the real tree, imo: your house smells wonderful.

Yep. Sitting here in front of ours & it smells wonderful. About a 7 foot tree $35 fresh cut while we watched at Top of the Mountain Christmas Trees in Glendale Springs, NC. Best place ever to buy a tree! They rock!

 

[wannagoback]

We live in the Pacific Northwest and there lots of Christmas trees here! This year we went to a different tree farm and got two trees (a smaller one for the kids) for $40. We usually pay $35-40 for our tree.

We just bought a start at Walmart for $8. You will need to water frequently and vacuum up the needles frequently. Also, consider how you will dispose of the tree at the end of the season. We have family with private property where we can dump ours. The Boy Scouts here also run a tree dropoff station after Xmas.

 

[mjkacmom]

For some reason, trees seem to be more expensive here. The cheapest would be Home Depot ($50?), and we usually spend between $65 - $85 at a nursery. Heck, it costs us that much when we drive an hour west, and cut the thing down! I've never had an artifical tree.

 

[AndreaDM]

We pay $60 for a 7-8 ft Fraser fir in NE Ohio. But, the best thing is our tree stand! We use a Stand Straight & get the tree drilled, easy peasy!

http://shop.mendhamgardencenter.com/browse.cfm/super-stand-straight-tree-stand-rs107/4,538.html

 

[ellone]

An added benefit of the real tree, imo: your house smells wonderful.

Unless you're allergic. OP - I'd make sure no one in your house is allergic to them. I never had a real tree when I was younger. One year my sister convinced my parents to get a real one. My sister and I were both stuffy while it was in the house. And then if we brushed up against it we got a rash.

Never got another real tree.

 

[NOLA_Tink]

We just bought our 6 foot Christmas tree at Home Depot for $25 or $29. They wrapped it for us and helped us put it on my car. Last year, we bought one from a tree lot, but they were overpriced and I didn't feel comfortable haggling for a lower price.

As for care, we bought a tree stand at Target that has a 9 inch basin and easy-pour for daily watering.