ARIZONA, USA — Call it a lucky day for those pining for a real tree in the Valley.
All day Thursday, Moon Valley Nurseries offered a rare gift to consumers: free Christmas trees.
"Whether it’s school districts or churches or just a family that needs one," said Toni Cruse, Arizona's Regional Manager with Moon Valley Nurseries. "They started rolling in around 9 a.m. It’s been going strong for a while."
She said their company had to pay more for trees this year, but they didn't have to pass that on to the customer.
"We kept the same prices as last year," Cruse said.
This year, trees can range from $50 bucks for a table topper all the way up to a few hundred dollars for a big one.
Most tree wholesalers had to raise prices this year to meet supply and labor demands, according to a survey done by the Real Christmas Tree Board.
"The idea of $100 or more for a nice tree is not something that’s appealing," said Sharon Girulat. "We have an awful lot of families that can’t handle that."
Girulat is with Christmas Trees of Hope, a local organization that takes donated extra trees from suppliers and gives them to charities that work directly with needy families. She said they've been able to donate more trees this year due to decreased demand.
"They have extra, which is unusual," she shared. "We didn’t have many extra last year and none the year before."
Girulat still has trees to offer and plans to keep donating through Christmas with a pickup location at Tumbling T Ranch in Goodyear. You can visit their website for more details.
Moon Valley Nurseries said they would give away trees while supplies last on December 22.
This year inflation is taking a toll on our wallets from groceries and gas, but 2022 is still expected to break records when it comes to holiday shopping.
The National Retail Federation predicts 2022 to be the highest year on record for holiday spending, forecasting more than $900 billion in holiday sales, up 6%-8% from 2021.
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