Christmas tree tradition alive and well in NH

HUDSON – How many people can say that they bought their Christmas tree straight from Santa Claus? It seems as though St. Nick himself is selling balsam and Fraser fir trees along Lowell Road.

With his white beard, perfect smile and Santa Claus-like silver rimmed glasses, Berk Swinerton has been selling balsam and Fraser firs for years, and the retired truck driver from Litchfield “doesn’t sell cheap quality trees.”

He’s heard all the Santa Claus references before and says he’ll continue to hear them as long as he’s selling trees.

His son, Scott, of Scott’s Sales in Hudson, has been selling Christmas trees for almost 22 years. Each year they order 400-500 trees and they’re not expecting any slumps in sales this year due to the economy.

“You see the restaurant parking lots full every night,” Swinerton said, “Of course they’re gonna buy Christmas trees.”

The trees, which go on sale Thanksgiving day, range from 7 to 9 feet tall and start at about $40 depending on whether you want a balsam or a Fraser.

Swinerton explains that the popular Christmas tradition happens once a year and said he hopes he’s right when it comes to tree sales this year. “It’s not that expensive,” he said.

Hoisting the holiday tree is a tradition for many families, but it’s also big business.

Sales of real Christmas trees in the U.S. brought in $1.03 billion, with the sale of about 28.2 million trees across the country, according to the National Christmas Tree Association. The New Hampshire Department of Agriculture reports that in 2007, Christmas trees, wreathes and roping pulled in about $4 million.

In Milford, Miracle Acres Tree Farm on Mason Road is preparing for a busy two weeks. Last year, they sold 500 trees, selling out their “cut your own” supply in two weeks. “They just screamed out of here,” owner Dave Wheeler said.

Almost 6,000 balsam and Fraser trees in different stages of growth cover the 60 acres of land on the farm, and they’re hoping to build their supply up to 10,000 trees in the coming seasons. The farm opens the day after Thanksgiving and has plenty of their most popular 8-foot trees ready to be cut down and put up in homes around the area. Trees sell for $40 and Saturday’s are the farm’s most popular day as they offer complimentary wagon rides, hot cocoa and hot cider to customers looking to warm up for a bit.

“We get a lot of families coming out, the college kids return every year and keep the tradition going with their family,” Wheeler said.

The farm is strictly cut your own and they also sell their own maple products like maple syrup, candy, honey and maple covered nuts.

Wheeler advises to come early for the best selection of trees, and if you want to stop by during the week to cut a tree, you need to make an appointment. They’re open the day after Thanksgiving and every Saturday after from 9 a.m. to dark and are closed Sundays.

And for those who don’t feel like getting in the car, bundling up the kids and tying a tree to the roof of the car can order it straight from their comfy computer chair through North Pole Christmas Trees, run locally by the Kessler family.

The company will deliver a tree within 50 miles of Nashua. They have balsam, Fraser, Douglas fir and spruce trees available for sale online and at their three Nashua-based pickup locations. Additional charges for freight may apply, so it’s best to contact them if you’re looking for tree delivery.

This is their first Christmas season they’ve offered trees for sale online and in the past two weeks they’ve received international tree delivery orders from places as far away as Spain.

“We’re doing all kinds of new stuff,” Illan Kessler said of tree sales. “We’re trying to be the number one Christmas tree company in the world.”

The Kessler family has been in business for 35 years and this year they’ve landed a new contract with Apple Computers to put one Christmas tree in every Apple Store around the world.

“We’ve made some great progress this year,” said Kessler. “Our Web site this year has made a huge leap from static to dynamic with the addition of e-commerce sales.”

To solidify their worldwide sales, they have partnered with a Christmas tree farm in Scotland. The farm in Europe harvests, boxes and delivers all of its North Pole tree sales in Europe, and in return, North Pole handles their sales in the U.S.

North Pole gets their trees from fields in New Hampshire, Vermont, New York, Maine, Pennsylvania, New Brunswick and Quebec. Check www.northpolexmastrees.com for more information and store locations.

Julianne Hanckel can be reached at 594-5833 or jhanckel@nashuatelegraph.com.