A late and spotting winter around Wyoming so far this year hasn't done much to set a tone for Christmas, but the warmer temperatures haven’t slowed down sales of that most obvious of holiday decorations, the Christmas tree.
Sales of live trees are on par so far compared to last year, according to sources interviewed by Cowboy State Daily. But while one might assume that every Wyoming household would have a fresh evergreen harvested from a forest decorated and ready for the holidays, not everyone wants the mess and stress of a live tree.
Fake Over Natural
In the United States, most families choose artificial Christmas trees for their homes.
The American Christmas Tree Association (yes, there really is one) found last year that 83% of households planned to display an artificial tree, and that trend has been in place for more than a decade.
Here in Wyoming, despite the proximity of mountain ranges and public lands filled with possibilities, fake trees are still the choice of many households.
“I’m a fake-tree person through and through,” said Stacy Bair of Lovell. “I like my Christmas trees perfectly full and symmetrical — basically how no real tree has ever looked in the history of trees.”
Bair and her husband, Devon, own and operate Bairco Construction, as well as a chain of successful fitness centers in the Bighorn Basin. She said that even if she did have time to go hunt down a real tree, she wouldn’t.
“Fake trees don’t shed, don’t die, and always look good,” she said. “Kind of perfect, in my opinion.”
Jen Hessenthaler is of the same opinion as Bair. As an elementary school teacher in Lovell, as well as a fitness instructor and coach, Hessenthaler said the simplicity of an artificial tree is what keeps her pulling out the synthetic one every year.
“I put my Christmas tree up early (before Thanksgiving), so a fake one works better for us,” she said. “I like the idea of a real tree, but don’t want to deal with the mess.”
Nothing Beats the Real Deal
However, there are die-hards here in the Cowboy State who wouldn’t trade the mess for anything. Cheryl Shaffer of Cody said she can’t imagine having anything other than a real tree at Christmas.
“The tradition of cutting down a real Christmas tree has been a part of my family history since I was a child,” she said. “As a family, we would load up in the car and go to the forest. The children would play in the snow and the grown-ups would cut down a perfect little tree. We brought along hot chocolate and snacks and had a wonderful time!”
Shaffer said, though, that it’s not just the childhood memories that have compelled her to carry that tradition into her adult life.
“Now it’s just me, my significant other and our two dogs, and we still have the same amount of fun gathering our Christmas tree,” she said. “To me, it would not be Christmas without the smell of a real tree in the house.”
Sales Strong for Real Trees
Despite the statistics that say that Americans prefer fake trees over live ones, sales are going strong this year for the real thing.
Todd Legler is the Boy Scout leader for Troop 3078 in Cody. For the last 12 years, Legler said has led his Scout troop in been selling Christmas trees at the Ponderosa Campground - and this year’s sales are just as high as they have been in previous years.
“Every year, we get about 200 trees and that seems to be about the right number for the Cody community here,” said Legler. “We set them up the Friday after Thanksgiving and start selling them every afternoon until they're sold out.”
Legler said how quickly they sell out of their inventory often is determined by weather.
“If folks can get up to the forest and harvest their own Christmas tree, then it takes a little bit longer for us to sell,” he said. “If it's a really cold, nasty, miserable winter, then they're willing to stop by and get an easy one.”
Bill and Mardi Froehlich cutting a real Christmas tree. (Wendy Corr for Cowboy State Daily) 
Around Wyoming, selling read Christmas trees is a popular fundraiser for Boy Scout troops and other groups. (Wendy Corr for Cowboy State Daily) 
For many families, selecting and cutting a real tree for Christmas is a tradition that goes back generations. (Wendy Corr for Cowboy State Daily)
Cutting Your Own
Evan Guzik, a spokesman for the Shoshone National Forest, said that this year, as with the last two years, sales of tree tags have hovered around 2,500. And tree-hunters in Wyoming have millions of acres from which to choose the perfect evergreen.
“There are only a couple areas where you can't go,” he said. “Obviously you can't drive your vehicle on any closed road, and there are a couple spots where there are winter wildlife closures,” said Guzik. “And you can't go into your favorite campground and take a tree out of there.”
Otherwise, Guzik said, public lands offer endless opportunities to carry on — or create new — holiday traditions, especially if there’s a fourth-grade student in the family.
“There’s a program called ‘Every Kid Outdoors,’” he said. “Every fourth grader gets a public lands access pass that gets them into national parks and discounts on campgrounds and other things. But they can also get a free Christmas tree.”
Price Points
Legler said his Scouts sell their trees at a rate of $12 per foot, with all proceeds going toward the Scout troop. However, if cost is an issue, Legler said their Scouts are allowed to be flexible with their pricing.
“If someone shows up and they aren't able to pay the $12 a foot, we're willing to work with them,” said Legler. “And that's really the boys’ decision, working with the salesmanship side of it, developing those types of skills.”
Legler said the costs have gone up slightly, from $10 a foot a few years ago to $12 per foot now. One reason is that the tree farm near Sandpoint, Idaho, where they get their inventory, is charging more.
“The trees themselves, they started costing a little bit more,” he said. “And with fuel to drive over to Sandpoint, it's basically a 10-hour trip one way.”
But when it comes to cutting your own tree in the forest, that price has stayed the same for literally decades.
“They are still $8,” said Guzik.
The cost of an artificial tree, however, is subject to more than local supply and demand. Tariffs on goods from China, where the majority of artificial trees are manufactured, have pushed those numbers up this year. Prices for artificial trees range widely, from under $100 to over $1,000, depending on size, features and import tariffs.
Choose Your Own Adventure
Guzik pointed out that no matter if a tree-hunt is part of a family’s tradition, or a new adventure this year, it’s relatively easy to get a tree tag, either in person at ranger stations or participating businesses, or online at sites such as recreation.gov.
“Especially in years like this, where it's a little gray, snow hasn't quite arrived yet, hunting season is done, summer recreation is done, and everyone just kind of hunkers down, I always think of this as a really good excuse to get off the couch, stop working in the garage, and just get outside,” he said. The snow will show up someday, when we can all get out there and enjoy those winter activities that we look forward to. But this is a good excuse to get out to your public lands before that snow arrives.”
And Legler said that if families can’t afford this most visible of holiday decorations, the Scouts end up donating several trees to families in need each year.
“We try to donate anywhere between five to 10 of our Christmas trees to families in need, just to give back,” he said.
And on that rare year when there are trees left over by Christmas Eve, Legler said those are free for the taking.
“We'd hate to see someone in the community go without, when there's something right there,” said Legler.
Wendy Corr can be reached at wendy@cowboystatedaily.com.
