How much did your (real) Christmas tree cost?

[deborah_r]

I was shocked when the guy told us our 5 foot, skinny tree was $40. (We wanted it skinny so it would fit better in our apartment) Then another $10 to have them nail it onto a stand so I don't have to hear DH complain for the next 6 months how hard it was to get the tree straight. Then with some kind of insane tax calculation, it was $59.48. Since we were looking for a small tree, I thought maybe $25-$30 when we left the house.

This seems ridiculously expensive to me. So I wanted to see how much other people spent (and please indicate general location of where you live!) I am just outside of Los Angeles.

[redhookmom]

I live upstate NY. But there are many NYC weekenders around... All trees, no matter the size, were $40, including tax. If we had driven north to the next county (about 25 minutes) it would have been $25.

[August Mom]

Our fir tree was $35 including tax, up $5 from last year. I believe the pines and spruces were $25. There also were some specially pruned ones (for the perfect Christmas tree shape) for $60. However, at one of the local nurseries, the 8 - 10 foot size (that we wanted) was around $70. I'm in Central Ohio.

[Joshuasmommy]

We usually get a mediumish tree(6-7 feet) and we usually pay $40-50 for it. We are in the midwest, St. Louis area to be exact.

[Jeanne]

I live in the burbs of Philly and we pay $50 for our 7 ft. Douglas each year. There are cheaper places but I prefer to go to my local nursery because every tree is pretty much perfect.

[lizajane]

6-7 feet. full and fluffy. ;) $45. raleigh, nc.

[g-mama]

Ours was somewhere between 6-7 feet and cost $60 (not including the $5 tip dh gave the guy who strapped it to the car). We live in Northern VA.

Kristen
Paolo 11-00
Benjamin 8-03

[usfrph]

$38.95 for our 6-7 ft Frasier Fir bought at Lowes (DFW area).

We have one of those As Seen On TV swivel action tree stand that I bought during the after Christmas sales for 75% off 3 years ago that really helps with getting the tree straight. Get one of them for next Christmas :-)

[tinkerbell1217]

The last time we bought a real tree in 1999 it was $40 and a 6 footer. It was an okay tree, but by no means the best on the lot! They didn't charge tax and no charge for anything else since DH is a CHEAPO! He never did get it straight in the stand!

Oh yeah, I live in south Florida.

[heidi_timms]

We actually aren't getting a tree this year, but we usually get our trees at Home Depot. If you have older children, then it's not as fun as doing the "lot" thing or cutting down your own, but since DD is still little, we usually pay between $22-26 at Home Depot.

ETA: We are in Northern California, but I'm sure Home Depot prices don't vary that much!

~Heidi
Mom to Kailey
4/03

[pixelprincess]

$21 + tax in Northern CA at a local lot. It isn't douglas fir, but a nice looking 6' tree...it was love at first sight for me. LOL.

[lisams]

We got a small 3-4 ft. douglas fir at Target for $18. There was a segment on the news and they said Target had the best prices then Lowes and Home Depot. I like the experience of going to a tree lot, but this year we're trying to save money so Target it was. We are happy with our little tree!

Lisa

[JLiebCamm]

We got a 7 1/2 foot Balsam Fir for $36 in westcentral PA from a local nursery. If weren't picky there are places to get them for $20, any size!

[mom2kandj]

South Orange County, CA

6-7ft noble fir for $69.95 + netting + tax = $80 + $5 tip for the tree guy to trim the bottom and carry it to our tree!

Rose
mom 2 Katie
& Jack

[toomanystrollers]

$40 total for a nice fluffy one :) I buy from a local charity organization for their scholarship fund-raiser.

[kfcboston]

$35 for a 7-footer here in southern Maine.

[etwahl]

Prices are insane here. Made my mouth drop. We did get ours from a nursery because they were each sitting in their own pail of water and the other places were not (it gets dry pretty quickly here, so I felt we needed all the help we could get). It was $70 plus tax for a 7.5 foot Frasier fir. They did cut the bottom off and trim the bottom branches so it would fit in our stand, and tie it to the top of our car. I still can't believe we had to spend so much, but it is a nice tree and still looks great.

Tammy,
mom to Lauren (March 2003)

[muskiesusan]

We paid $40 for a 7 1/2 foot, very full Fraiser Fir, but it would have been $90 if we didn't have a connection! I am shocked at how much trees go for, and we live in SE OH.

Susan
Mom to Nick 10/01/01
& Alex 04/27/04

[brubeck]

We paid $38 (including tax) for a 10 foot gorgeous Douglas fir. We cut it down ourselves at the tree farm and had a great day. IMHO this is the ONLY way to go: a day full of memories and a tree that lasts for weeks because it is fresh. I thought we paid a lot but I guess it wasn't too bad!

We live in the San Francisco Bay Area and the tree farm in in Half Moon Bay.

[Thatchermom]

Our 9-foot Douglas was $22 including tax, help to the car, candy canes & hot chocolate, this year's edition of the annual mini-ornament collection, and a ride on a half-size diesel train. Local cut-your-own lots in Seattle suburbs rock!



http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/user_files/18563.jpg

[hwin708]

Wow...I guess trees here are pricey. Learn something new every day.

Ours is a 9-foot Frasier Fir, and it was, gulp, around $150. BUT I get my tree every year at my old grammar school, so the prices are jacked up, as it is something of a money drive for the school. A pretty damn effective one, too, as their parking lot full of overpriced trees sells out in about 3-4 hours.

That being said, my friends got the same kind of tree at Home Depot for around $80. I didn't know trees cost so much less in other places. Douglas firs are less expensive, though - it probably would have been about $60 for a 9' Douglas.

[pumpkinandbean]

>Our 9-foot Douglas was $22 including tax, help to the car,
>candy canes & hot chocolate, this year's edition of the annual
>mini-ornament collection, and a ride on a half-size diesel
>train. Local cut-your-own lots in Seattle suburbs rock!
>
>
>
>http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/user_files/18563.jpg
>


Thatchermom,

I think that we went to the same tree farm! Except that we paid way too much for our noble fir ($70!) You'd think that if you cut it down yourself you'd get a price break! I think it is called Red Barn Farm? It was our first time at this place since we just moved there this year from DuPont.

oh, well, DD had a great time!

Allison
dd 10/30/02
dd 06/14/04

[LD92599]

$35 in Home Depot for a 7 Foot Frasier Fir ~ they helped us pick it up, trimmed it, bagged it and brought it to the car. The guys in that department were extremely helpful!

My mom was with us and hers was $25 for a 7 Foot Douglas.

We've never purchased our tree "retail" before ~ always preferring to go w/ a tree lot in town that benefitted the ambulance corp. But, alas, no fundraiser this year, so off to Home Depot it was!


Laura
mom to William
3.5.2003

http://homepage.mac.com/ld14m

http://lilypie.com/baby2/030305/0/7/0/-5/.png[/url]

[twinmama]

$50 for a 12 foot, long needle tree (Douglas Fir?). We cut our own at the farm about 10 minutes from my house. It's a wee bit Charlie Brown-ish, but loaded down with ornaments and lights, it looks pretty good! I'm in Northern VA.

Lisa

[bostonsmama]

I guess we lucked out. We have an artificial tree that is beautiful in our home, so we always make my mom go out and buy a fresh one. We got a 10-foot Douglas Fir at Lowe's for $25 (hey, the sign said any size...even though the Lowe's guy seemed suspicious...it was the only 10-footer on the lot). They bail it and trim the ends for free; Dh's job is to strap it to the roof of the Accord.

My mom's living room has 22 foot ceilings, so the tree's still not too big, but it is about 8 feet in diameter at the base! Of course, this is only one of six trees she decorates around the house!

ETA: We live in Southeastern Virginia.

[bostonsmama]

I guess we lucked out. We have an artificial tree that is beautiful in our home, so we always make my mom go out and buy a fresh one. We got a 10-foot Douglas Fir at Lowe's for $25 (hey, the sign said any size...even though the Lowe's guy seemed suspicious...it was the only 10-footer on the lot). They bail it and trim the ends for free; Dh's job is to strap it to the roof of the Accord.

My mom's living room has 22 foot ceilings, so the tree's still not too big, but it is about 8 feet in diameter at the base! Also, this is only one of six trees she decorates around the house!

[C99]

We did that once, also in Half Moon Bay. I think it was the last year that we had a real tree. :)

[kalebsmama]

We paid $55 for a 7ft. Douglas fir in SW Ohio. I wanted a Frasier, but they were all short for some reason and I like it to be taller. It's really fat, too. We wanted to go to a farm, but it was rainy all morning and then the temp was dropping, so we just went 2 miles to a nursery and paid higher prices.
I'd love to go cut one, but I don't think they grow Frasier or Douglas firs here in this part of OH. The ones that grow around here are types that aren't my favorite. Oh well!

[mharling]

Laura -
We have the same tree. :)

Until Lane is older, we're going the retail route. The act of picking out a tree and putting it in a shopping cart cracked me up though!

Until this year, we have either cut our own or gone to a local lot and paid beaucoup bucks (Chicago area).

Mary
Lane - April 2003
Little sister on the way!!! March 2!

[billysmommy]

DH and I (along with IL's) own a tree farm up in Maine. We charge $10 a tree and it's pretty much based on the honor system. We went up the last couple of weekends and DH and FIL cut down some trees and put them by the road in case people don't want to cut their own. But most people walk back, pick out their tree and cut it down. Someone is usually somewhere on the farm working or walking the dogs but there is a money box attached to a tree with scissors and a big bucket of twine so you can tie up the tree if wanted/needed. It's a lot of fun. We took Billy walking on the farm and talked with alot of people out getting their Christmas trees :)

[Dcclerk]

That is so neat. I was love to go wondering around a tree farm that has an honor system. Your Billy will have fabulous memories about that place I'm sure. And talk about a bargain! I thought we did really well with our 8 ft Douglas at $33 at a local nursery. But $10 and the experience to cut your own... much better!

[squimp]

$36 for a 6' noble fir. It's the cream of the crop for me - great smell, perfect branches perpendicular to the ground. Doesn't need to be shorn to look full and lovely. Thank you Boy Scouts!

I live in Oregon, the Douglas-fir state (it's on our license plate). Doug-fir was $2/ft. If it hadn't been raining we would have gone to one of the zillion Xmas tree farms here in the valley and cut one super cheap.

[kijip]

Trees in Seattle are pretty cheap (after all they don't call WA the evergreen state for nothing!). Trees start in the $20 range, less for under 5 footers. But we always go to a charity AIDS lot and spend about $40 for our Charlie Brownesque tree. But if we were getting a big tree (6-9 feet) we would pay up to $100 at the same lot!

[Tondi G]

LOL Deborah.... don't cha love livin in LA!!!! Everything is a rip off!

We ended up buying our tree at OSH... cause Home Depot's selection of Noble firs that night was SO bad.... I'm talking like 8 trees left in the 6-7 foot section. So we ventured across the street to Osh and payed $60 bucks for a 9 foot frasier fir.... no base (we had one at home)! It is actually a BEAUTIFUL tree!

As far as I know the local tree lot down the street from me is charging somewhere around 10 to 12 dollars a foot... not sure if they charge you for the base to be put on, but knowing Los Angeles area tree lots, chances are they Are charging for the base and water bowl too!

Christmas trees always feel like a rip off but hey you pay the price for that holiday spirit and the yummy christmas tree smell every time you walk through the door! :)

~Tondi
Mommy to Mason 7/8/01
and lil man #2 edd 5/5/05

[sdjeppa]

$25 for a 7 ft douglas fir at Home Depot here (San Diego). Its a BEAUTIFUL tree :) We wanted a smaller one, but that's the smallest they had. LOL

We have a tree farm we usually would go to, $40 any tree, any size, Monterey pine. Great deal for a BIG tree.

Jenny, Mommy to Zachary 9-27-03

[jubilee]

I live in Oregon. We have tree lots that sell $6 trees (but no real big trees) and we have cut it yourself treefarms that sell the "experience" for about $5 a foot. The last treefarm we went to was actually in SW Washington and had all the wagon ride, hot cocoa, caroling, and of course the tree. We ended up spending about $40- to which my DH grumbled for weeks. So between $6-40 I think is the norm here. However, we've gone with a fake tree since last year. :)

[KBecks]

We went to a fancier tree lot this year that is run by a family of growers.

The trees were all on display in individual stands, and really they all looked great.

Our 7ish foot Frasier Fir was $45, and it's probably the best looking tree we've ever had. The sellers were also very nice people, and we were in and out of the place in about 15 minutes, compared to probably 1/2 hour or more at a place where the trees are leaning and you have to pick up and examine each one.

I think $45 is pricey, because I know there are less expensive trees, but we're happy with this purchase.

[KBecks]

I might start looking for a cut-your-own place when DS gets older. It sounds like fun, although DH will do almost all the work of cutting, etc.

[Jen841]

Chicago at a nursery our Frazer Fir was $75
Philly suburbs at a nursery (Waterloo Gardens) $55

We thought $55 was a bargain

[steph01]

Hmmm... I we got a 9-10 ft frasier fur for $50. I live in Northern VA.

[bcafe]

Wow, someone else from the Milwaukee area! :)
Betsy (who has not gotten the tree as of yet)

[new_mommy25]

Cute!! I love the photo. That would look great framed :) You DS has great boots on too.

[parkersmama]

Wow! I had no idea that trees cost so much more here than in other parts of the country! I think you can get trees at Lowe's and Home Depot for $35-40 (on the low end for a smaller size <6ft) but when we've gotten them there in the past I wasn't happy with the quality. We've been buying trees at the same tree lot for a few years. We have high ceilings so we got a 8-9' Frasier Fir and it cost $75 (minus a $5 coupon but plus tax). There are tree farms around here (we live in central Georgia) but the trees they grow are not Douglas or Frasier like you get at the lots, they are more cedar-ish. I think that's because it's so damn hot here that the more "quality" trees can't grow since they require more cold weather. Highway robbery! :D

[barbarhow]

Where is your tree farm? We had planned to go to one this year and headed out on Tuesday with Jack's sled and a saw but it was so cold an so windy we ended up buying one from in front of someones house. It is beautiful-8'tall and had a price of $22.00. There was no one home so we stuffed the money under the door.
Years ago when I first moved to NYC I paid $80 for a tree-at the time they were $10/foot. I spent my last penny on that tree and had to go to Macy's cellar to buy food for a party so I could charge it on my card. Those were the foolish days of yesteryear....
Barbara-mom to Jack 3/27/03, a Red Sox fan
expecting #2, a Yankee fan, around 5/9/05!

[billysmommy]

It's in Ellsworth, between Bangor and Bar Harbor.

[Thatchermom]

Red Barn Tree Farm - that's the one! We have been going there for several years. I'm not a Noble person (that sounds funny like that!) so the cheap trees are just what I'm after. We LOVE the rest of the deal, though. Last year we went on a (rainy) Friday, they started the train and ran it just for us. This year in the sunshine it was packed - a really different experience!

[pumpkinandbean]

We were probably there on the same day! It was sunny for us too! We are definately going back there next year!

Allison

[barbarhow]

Too far for us-darn-at least for Christmas trees. Although we used to go camping in Acadia in the summers. So beautiful up there.
Barbara-mom to Jack 3/27/03, a Red Sox fan
expecting #2, a Yankee fan, around 5/9/05!

[Thatchermom]

Day after Thanksgiving?