HARRISON, Ohio — Tree farms across the Tri-State said they are setting records for the number of Christmas trees they are selling this holiday season.
William Hammit, owner of Shaker Tract Tree Farm, said he wasn't going to open this year because of the pandemic, but then he saw people going apple picking and to pumpkin patches and had a change of heart.
Less than a week after Thanksgiving, most of the big trees on his farm were gone.
Down the road from Shaker Tract Tree Farm is Nieman's Nursery and Tree Farm. Employees there said they have sold nearly 4,000 trees this year, which is about 1,000 more than in 2019.
Hammit thinks the reason so many people are buying real trees this year is two-fold: One, he thinks millennials are swapping out their artificial trees for real ones. Second: Families want to get out after being cooped up for most of the year.
Some people, Hammit said, came to just walk around the farm without buying a tree.
"I'm looking forward to the vaccine for the long run and people getting out and returning to a normal life," Hammit said. "So, and next year, I'm sure sales are going to be up even more."
