Recession doesn't hurt E.V. Christmas tree sales

East Valley residents aren't letting the lean economy dampen their enthusiasm for Christmas trees.

"We have sold out," said Dave Kelly, store manager at the Country Club SummerWinds Nursery in Mesa.

Kelly said the store stocked fewer trees this year than last year and discounted them on Saturday to help move inventory.

Buyers were as enthusiastic as every other year when it came to buying trees, he said.

"The mood has always been a good one," he said. "They come in happy and they leave happy with a tree they're going to put up for a few weeks."

Rob Johns of A&P Nurseries, which has four locations in the East Valley, said sales were slow, but "by no means horrible." The nurseries stocked up on more small and medium trees than the larger variety this year, he said.

Another trend he noticed was more people waiting to purchase a tree.

While the first two weekends of December were the busiest, as usual, sales this past weekend were higher than normal for the weekend prior to Christmas.

"We went through a fair number of trees. As a matter of fact, even today at each location we're still selling," he said.

On Monday at Whitfill Nursery in Gilbert, Chip Merritt of Chandler, and his son, Ethan, 5, looked up and down the trees before selecting just the right one.

"What about this one?" Chip Merritt asked as he pointed to a 6-foot Douglas fir.

"I'd say it's pretty good," a happy Ethan said as he put his nose into the tree. "Let's make sure it's not too brownish."

The family always gets a live tree, Chip Merritt said. And Ethan knew just what ornament would go on it.

"I made an ornament at school. It has a picture," he said.

The memories people make picking out their tree are what count most, said Whitfill Nurseries owner Brian Whitfill.

"It's been a phenomenal year," said Whitfill, who has sold Christmas trees for 25 years.

Whitfill Nurseries has a farm in Elfrida, by Douglas in southeastern Arizona, Whitfill said.

In addition to cut trees, the nurseries sold Goldwater pines or Elderica pines in containers.

"You can actually plant them here" and add a real Christmas tree to a home's landscaping, he said.

This year, he said, there seemed to be more people taking more time in the nurseries and lots. The nursery in Gilbert sold more trees than it has in the past seven or eight years, Whitfill said.

"It's just a fun experience and a good part of the season watching the kids run through the lots, watching the sparkle of a kid's eyes," Whitfill said. "When the economy is down, it seems things like the Christmas tree experience are things people are going back to."

Ethan Merritt was excited to get home and show the tree to his baby brother.

Plus, he said, Santa made a promise to him in a letter.

"We're going to be the first house he goes to on Christmas Eve," he said. "Santa's elves made something special for me in the workshop."