TAMPA BAY, Fla. — Christmas trees go on sale in Tampa Bay the weekend before Thanksgiving. Sellers suggest shoppers do not hesitate to go pick theirs out.
“Things are going to go fast," David Gallagher, owner of Gallagher's Pumpkins and Christmas Trees said.
Gallagher preps for his 34th Christmas tree season sale on 4th Street in St. Petersburg, Florida.
"I was born and raised in this," he said.
1,400 trees of all types and sizes are packed into the lot in preparation for Saturday's sales.
"They've already took it and are fixing it up for us," Sandy Kasten told ABC Action News as she picked out her tree a day early, getting a head start on the weekend competition. "We found the perfect tree for the right price so that was great."
Kasten's philosophy is a buyer's guide that every tree shopper this holiday season should subscribe to.
"There's going to be a lot of smaller outfits that are going to have a problem getting trees," Gallagher said.
Tree supply is at a premium in the lead up to Thanksgiving and Christmas, this year. A holiday wish seems appropriate in order to nab the right one.
"There is still a shortage on trees," Gallagher said. "With the recession we had problems, and we've had problems with diseases and stuff like that, and now there's a shipping issue that everybody knows about."
But Barbara Bowers of Winterland Christmas Trees is not bothered.
"Our prices have gone up a little bit, but it's not stopping the Christmas spirit so people are still buying," she said.
Her team is trimming and wrapping trees just in time for Tampa Bay families to take one home and decorate together - a timeless holiday tradition.
"It's a feeling you can't get anywhere else," Kasten said.
