Fir real? Christmas tree buyers face sticker shock

On what is typically the busiest weekend of the Christmas tree-buying season, many shoppers are about to discover inflationary pressures that hit grocery stores have made their way to Christmas tree farms.

The pressure on these farms comes from the time necessary to grow popular trees like the Fraser fir — often an entire decade — and growing costs to run tree farms and various seasonal events for families.

"Christmas tree farming is not just six weeks of the year," said Shirley Brennan of Christmas Tree Farmers of Ontario.

The Fraser fir, which lives longer and sheds fewer needles, needed constant water and protection from pests like gypsy moths for a full 10 years before it makes the farmer a single cent, farmers said.

In most places, when a shaking and wrapping service is added, the Fraser can cost about $100 by the time it has been tied to the roof of the family car.

"It is a bit high-maintenance," said Pam Martin at Cedar Hill Christmas Tree farm in Pakenham, Ont.

At her farm, a staff of six workers use tractors to dig irrigation lines, spread fertilizer, mow weeds, and deliver Christmas trees, among other tasks.

That work costs more because of the cost of diesel fuel and fertilizer. Insurance costs are also up as farms try to bundle up a festive experience of tobogganing and wagon rides with the outing.

Brennan said Christmas tree farmers are seeing bigger premiums than ever this year — some farms with no claims still face a $15,000 bill in one year.

Those are some reasons why the price this year is up about 15 per cent over last year, farmers said.

Fewer farms mean fewer, more expensive trees

The real estate boom has also led to higher tree prices because some Ontario farms have been sold off.

Brennan says 8,000 hectares of Christmas tree farms have been lost between 2011 and 2021, partly because of the challenges finding labour, but also because farmers retired with no successors.

Christine and Ian Thomas are fighting that trend with some creativity.

They took over Ian's parents' 12-hectare tree operation outside of Ottawa upon the elder Thomas's retirement in 2016, but have held onto their day jobs.

Though the balsam fir is king here, their farm also grows spruce and even some Scotch pine trees.

"We do try to make sure we have trees at different price points," said Christine Thomas.

Then for some families, the purchase price for a Christmas tree matters less when it carries symbolic value. That was the case for Natasha Farrugia, who was ready to mark her eight-month-old daughter's first Christmas.

"Certainly we saw the tag and how much it cost, but we were going to get it regardless," Farrugia said of the Fraser fir Cedar Hill farm.