Anthony’s Trees sees spike in Christmas tree sales over weekend- just a week before the big day

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — It’s the most wonderful time of the year — and the most lucrative — for business owners like Ed Miller, who owns Anthony’s Trees in Santa Barbara.

“I sold eight trees on Thanksgiving Day and then the day after. Oh, I don't know. We did like 280 or something. It's a huge response to the 24th of November,” said Miller.

And though Christmas is just a week away, the sales are still coming in.

Anthony’s Trees saw an uptick in sales over the weekend with 230 Christmas trees sold this past Saturday ahead of the week’s storms.

“We just picked out the traditional Christmas tree all together. And I think we are the ones who came the longest way to pick the tree here, because we're from Munich,” said Katrina McCaslin, visiting from Germany.

The family said nothing beats the magic of a real Christmas tree.

“The way the arms go down and the fragrance that fills the home and the Yuletide carols and the mead and the cheese. We go wild over this and it's all centered around the tree,” said Dan McCaslin, who lives in Santa Barbara.

But it’s not just the trees customers come here for. It’s the sense of community and lifelong traditions.

“It's just a fun place to be because people are so happy. They’re so happy around here,” said Kathleen Flynn and Sandra Rezzonico, who live in Santa Barbara.

The store owner said he expects the storms will put a damper on sales, but he’s sure there will still be people purchasing trees right before Christmas.

“Every year we sell 30 or 40 trees on Christmas Eve. So it's important that we have trees up until the last day,” said Miller.

Though they are sold out of wreaths and Douglas Fir trees, workers said they have a great variety of other trees customers can choose from.