How Americans Buy Real Christmas Trees: From Farm to Living Room

What Comes to Mind for Christmas in America?

For American families, the Christmas season begins with searching for a fir tree farm.

Not every family does this, but many typical white families in the area where I live search for fir tree farms to purchase a fir tree for their Christmas tree.

During this time of year, shops selling fir trees pop up all over town.

They set up prefab buildings on empty lots, line up fir trees, and start selling.

Even home improvement stores start selling live fir trees.

【Watch the first half video here】

The American Way of Transporting Fir Trees

The way people transport their purchased fir trees is also interesting.

Many people tie the fir tree to the roof of their car to take it home.

Because of this, during this season you’ll often see cars driving around with live fir trees on their roofs.

The sight of about five fir trees lying on a car roof, secured with rope, has become a winter tradition.

This scene seems to be increasing year by year.

It’s truly one of the iconic scenes of the American Christmas season.

How to Purchase a Fir Tree

My family also follows this tradition and purchases a fir tree every year.

We’ve been buying live fir trees for about 5-6 years now, and my wife researches where to buy them online each time.

We don’t always buy from the same place—some locations that were open the previous year might be closed this year, and sometimes new fir tree vendors suddenly appear.

These vendors don’t just sell fir trees; they also set up play areas for kids and have food stalls.

Some even sell beer, creating quite a fun atmosphere.

Our Fir Tree Purchasing Experience

This time, we decided to go to a fir tree farm in a place called Riverside.

It’s a relatively rural town about 2 hours inland by car from Redondo Beach, where I live.

We drove there, and although it was a countryside area with nothing around, there was no admission fee and we could enter freely.

There was just a small prefab cabin standing alone, but the property was incredibly vast—so large that I wondered, “Can we really walk all the way out there?”

When we arrived at the fir tree farm, fir tree fields stretched as far as the eye could see.

At the entrance, carts were provided along with saws for cutting trees.

We grabbed these and headed out to find our preferred fir tree.

Finding the Right Tree to Buy Is Hard Work

Because the farm is so vast, looking at every tree is extremely exhausting.

So it’s common to narrow down your search to a specific area.

Our family—including the kids, my wife, and our dog—started walking with our cart and saw.

When choosing a fir tree, you consider the shape, type of needles, and height.

Just evaluating these factors alone is quite tiring work.

Riverside is a hot area, and that day was no exception—we were drenched in sweat as we searched.

【Watch the second half video here】

Watch Out for the Size of the Fir Tree

We kept searching, saying “not this one, not that one either,” until we finally found a tree we liked.

Before purchasing, you need to make sure it won’t hit the ceiling.

Generally, ceiling height is about 8 feet (approximately 2.4 meters), so you choose with that in mind.

We ultimately decided on a tree that was about 7.5 feet (approximately 2.3 meters) tall.

After Choosing, It’s Time to Actually Cut It Down

That’s when the hard part began.

The saw didn’t cut well, and despite my wife and I desperately working the saw, it just wouldn’t cut through.

After struggling for about 15 to 20 minutes, we finally finished cutting.

The felled fir tree was very heavy, and loading it onto the cart and hauling it to the exit was another challenge.

So, How Much Does a Fir Tree Cost…?

The price was about $100.

At the exit, they wrap the fir tree with a special machine.

A young white employee, probably high school age, carried the fir tree to our car.

They placed it on the car roof and skillfully tied it down with rope.

We tipped the employee, and normally $5 would be plenty, but at that time I had forgotten to get small bills and only had a $20.

So I said “Merry Christmas” and handed over the $20.

The employee looked surprised but was happy.

And That’s How the Fir Tree Purchase Was Complete

With the fir tree loaded in the car, we headed home.

This is the typical flow of purchasing a Christmas tree in America.

As a side note, Christmas tree theft has apparently been increasing in recent years.

There are cases where trees tied to car roofs get stolen while the owners are eating at a restaurant.

It’s an act that ruins children’s dreams—a really unfortunate story.

After Bringing Home the Fir Tree, Wait a Day Before Attaching the Stand. Or So We Planned…

When we arrived home, we first unloaded the tree in front of the garage and washed it.

We removed dust and dirt, and took off any dead parts.

After that, we let it dry for about a day before attaching the stand to make it stand upright.

However, when we tried to bring it inside, something unexpected happened.

The tree we bought was bigger than we thought—it was 9 feet (about 2.7 meters) tall.

Our ceiling is 8 feet (about 2.4 meters), so it wouldn’t fit at all.

In the end, we managed to fit it by cutting it with scissors, but it still barely touched the ceiling.

This kind of thing is also a very American experience.

The Charm of a Real Christmas Tree

The greatest appeal of a real Christmas tree is its scent.

The house fills with the aroma of the tree, creating a wonderful atmosphere.

Surrounded by this fragrance, we decorate together with the kids and spend time waiting for Christmas.

If you’re visiting the U.S., give a real Christmas tree a try—and if you live here, it might be a fun tradition to start (or revisit) this year.