RALEIGH, N.C. — Some Christmas tree lots are running low after a record-breaking weekend for tree sales at the State Farmers Market in Raleigh.
Christmas trees are flying off Barrier Tree Farms’ lot faster than they can get them replaced. In only three days Elizabeth Barrier sold just shy of 300 trees. Barrier Farms and other growers are wondering if this keeps up whether they’ll have enough trees to see them through the season.
“It's kind of iffy on that one, but hopefully we do,” Barrier said. “We brought down 100 more than we did last year, and we sold out. We had none left.”
The weekend after Thanksgiving is always a top seller and this year was no exception, but growers will be the first to tell you, North Carolina is currently facing a Christmas tree shortage in the midst of high demand. And although the shortage of trees may be raising prices, it’s clearly not stopping the demand.
“I don't know if it was because Thanksgiving came earlier or just more people in the Christmas spirit, I'm not sure, but I'm thankful,” Barrier said.
They brought in a fresh load of trees Sunday early morning to restock after being cleaned out on Saturday. They’ve been coming to the Farmers Market to sell their trees for 30 years and say they’ve never seen a weekend like this.
“Friday we sold 108 trees total, and Saturday we sold 108 trees total, and then yesterday we had 75,” Barrier said.
They typically have about 100 trees out on their lot at a time but brought 1,000 down from their farm for the three weeks they expect to spend at the market. They plan to be there a few more weeks and for the sake of their customers, and Barrier hopes they don’t run out of trees.
“It makes my heart so happy just knowing that I can do something like this, that I'm blessed enough to know how and to be able to bless someone else with a beautiful tree that they think is absolutely perfect for their family,” Barrier said.