Inflation, labor costs contribute to Christmas tree price increases

If you’re hoping to celebrate this Christmas with the sweet smell of pine and citrus, you may need to shell out some extra cash.

The average price of Christmas trees has increased by 10% since last year, mostly due to inflation and drought, according to the American Christmas Tree Association.

Suppliers and growers of Christmas trees have had to pay more for raw materials, labor and distribution, meaning they need to charge the public more if they want to survive.

John’s Christmas Trees lot at Huntington Plaza on Algonquin Road in Hoffman Estates has been in business at that location for 39 years.

“I have heard there is a national tree shortage,” said Troy Veraghen, whose family owns the farm where the trees are grown. “In my opinion, a major contributing factor is less tree farmers. When I go to the Christmas tree conventions, I’m the youngest face there every single year. Fraser fir is in short supply because it takes the longest to grow.”

Veraghen set up the tree lot the Monday before Thanksgiving and opened on Black Friday. The lot stays open until its supply is exhausted, which is usually the weekend before Christmas, he said.

Veraghen’s grandfather started the business more than 60 years ago, and it is based in Powers, a town in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, 100 miles north of Green Bay.

“All of our trees are grown in northeastern Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, so obviously our trees are unaffected by hurricanes,” Veraghen said. “With inflation and everything the last few years, we’ve adjusted, but now it seems everything has pretty well leveled out, and we have similar prices as last year.”

Andrew Viskup, a technician at McGrath Volvo in Barrington, said he and his wife buy their tree at John’s Christmas Trees every year.

He brought two of his co-workers – service manager Dariusz Wieczorkiewicz and salesperson Luke Wozniak – to the lot Tuesday to buy a tree for display at the dealership.

“I think it’s more affordable, especially with trees like this – they’re up three or four weeks,” Wieczorkiewicz said. “But these are very nice, and they’re very budget friendly.”

Blanks Ever-Green Acres in Creve Coeur always viewed itself as one of the cheaper places to buy Christmas trees, manager Mike Blank said.

This year, the southwestern Illinois cut-your-own tree lot had to sway from its usual practice of selling each tree for the same price no matter its size. For trees more than 10 feet tall, they now charge between $20 and $40 more.

“A 10-foot tree here is anywhere from $80 to $100,” Blank said.

Richardson Farm in Spring Grove offers homegrown and cut-your-own trees, as well as precut ones shipped from outside the farm. This year, it raised the price for each of its homegrown trees by $5 and precut trees by $10 to $15 each.

Owner George Richardson attributes this to increases in trucking expenses, minimum wage and liability insurance.

All cut-your-own trees at the farm are $95, plus tax, for all heights and sizes. Available trees in the field are up to 9 feet tall. Select trees, individually priced, are available for as low as $49. Precut trees up to 12 feet tall range in price from $95 to $300, tax not included.

“The cost of everything has gone up,” Richardson said. “Every dollar-an-hour raise in wage is $50,000 for us. Liability insurance … they almost have doubled their prices in the past three years. Pretty much everything is tied back to the cost of labor.”

Richardson repeatedly has seen his company’s expenses rise each year. He’s adamant that although the prices may seem unjustified, they’re reflective of global inflation and the labor his farm requires. Richardson Farm tries to provide customers something extra, such as free hot chocolate to sweeten the deal, making the tree cost more palatable.

“I think this price is very fair for the experience we’re offering,” Richardson said.

Most suppliers of trees are feeling the need to increase prices, yet some have decided to absorb the cost, allowing families a discount on their holiday joy.

Ben’s Christmas Tree Farm has been operating in Harvard since 1982. The farm boasts that it is 100% herbicide- and pesticide-free, but this is responsible for multiplying the physical work required to grow the trees. The farm has had to increase tree prices in past years but chose to refrain this season, manager Chris Czarnowski said.

“Just like everybody else, our labor costs are up,” Czarnowski said. “But this year, we didn’t increase our prices.”

• Daily Herald staff photographer Joe Lewnard contributed to this report.

https://www.dailyherald.com/20241203/news/inflation-labor-costs-contribute-to-christmas-tree-price-increases/