This Christmas, Amazon will be delivering full size, fresh Christmas trees, available to order online.  Amazon is charging anywhere between $20 to $110 for the trees with sizes ranging from one to seven feet tall, according to abcnews.go.  The packages come with care instructions, tree preservative supplements, and a biodegradable bag to dispose of the tree when the holiday is over.  However, small shop owners are strong critics of Amazon’s project as they feel it will take away from local businesses’ profits and from meaningful Christmas traditions.

Amazon is not the first to propose selling and delivering Christmas trees online.  There are various other sites that provide a similar option, such as greenvalleychristmastrees.com, christmastreesnow.com, and atreetoyourdoor.com, according to forbes.com.  Although many other sites offer a similar source for purchasing a Christmas tree, Amazon Prime Members will receive free shipping for some of the trees, wreaths, and garlands Amazon is selling, according to forbes.com. 

Before launching the sale this year, Amazon did a test trial in 2017, only selling trees shorter than three feet.  After a successful trial, Amazon wanted to expand its market and sell larger trees.  This year, the trees will come from local tree growers in North Carolina and Michigan, according to abcnews.go.
Local tree growers around the United States have a wide variety of opinions on Amazon’s choice to start vending Christmas trees.  Ms. Natalie Sare owns Santa’s Tree Farm in Half Moon Bay, California, and is a strong believer that people should support their local Christmas tree farms.  She thinks that the experience and tradition of picking out a tree at a farm is an experience Amazon should not take away.

“Parents say these are the memories their kids are going to remember, walking through the field, cutting down the tree together and putting it on the car,” Ms. Sare said, according to abcnews.go.

Mr. Leo Collins, the owner of Bluebird Christmas Tree Farm in Heiskell, Tennessee, believes that Amazon’s online sales will only draw in people who would prefer to order Christmas trees.  He does not think it will not take away sales from tree farmers.

“I think there are different types of customers, and that’s a great thing,” Mr. Collins said, according to vox.com.  “Our customers have learned that [Fraser fir trees] stay fresh, they smell best and stay green and hold ornaments the best, so they usually end up taking those.  You’re not going to get the same experience from opening a box, but if it’s a good tree and it’s at your door, and you want that ease, that’s the way to go.”

Each year, junior Avery McCloskey and her family travel to Jones Family Farms in Shelton, Connecticut to pick out their Christmas tree.  Avery believes that this tradition has become a key part of her family’s holiday.

“Getting our Christmas tree always becomes an adventure for my family and me.  We make it a full day affair, beginning with breakfast at a diner next door, and then we head to Jones Family Farm, and it is always the highlight of my Christmas season,” Avery said.  “Being able to have time together as a family before the holiday season is especially meaningful now that all of my siblings are in college, and it is something I look forward to continuing this tradition.”

Featured Image by Sydney Gallop ’20