Where To Find NYC Christmas Trees: A Guide For Holiday Cheer

NEW YORK CITY — The smell of fresh Christmas trees has replaced the scent of garbage juice this holiday season in New York City.

Fresh-cut Christmas trees abound in the Big Apple, if New Yorkers know where to look.

Racks of Douglas Firs and Scotch Pines have already started their migration from frigid farms to the city’s streets and stores. And this year, there will more more than enough to go around, according to a survey by the Real Christmas Tree Board.

“The real Christmas tree industry met demand last year, and it will meet demand this year,” Marsha Gray, executive director of the Real Christmas Tree Board, said in a statement.

“This is essentially a year without surprises.”

So, for New Yorkers who want to track down that perfect tree and recreate a scene from "When Harry Met Sally" by dragging it back to their apartment, Patch has a (by-no-means comprehensive) guide for where to get started.

Urban Garden Center

This East Harlem store is a perennial favorite for fir-finders.

The garden center is normally open daily from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m., but starting Dec. 1 till Dec. 22 its hours will change to 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. to accommodate Christmas tree shoppers.

It also offers online shopping options.

Tree Riders NYC

Forgo the hassle of hauling a Christmas try by trying this popular East Village service.

Shop for (surprisingly cheap) trees on the Tree Riders NYC website and have them deliver it, by bicycle, to your door.

“We are known to personally select, harvest and transport our trees to our East Village location, and deliver them to your home via bicycle!” the Tree Riders NYC website states. “Every tree comes with a story and the hard work of our staff of artists!”

Delivery bicycle riders go to all boroughs except Staten Island.

SoHo Trees

Another Lower Manhattan institution makes it easy for New Yorkers to be ho-ho-ho-ing this holiday season.

SoHo Trees’ flagship location is in its selfsame neighborhood, but there are four other locations scattered across Manhattan.

Of course, shoppers can go online and arrange deliveries.

Grocery stores

Many local and chain grocery stores sell fresh Christmas trees every year.

Whole Foods in particular has been known to offer trees.

But prospective shoppers should make calls ahead of time to make sure their grocer has them stocked. Otherwise, they might just end up taking some egg nog home.

Neighborhood Christmas tree stands

Street corner and sidewalk Christmas tree stands are a dime a dozen in New York City during the holiday season.

Quality and price can vary, as well as whether your neighborhood has such a stand.

A good start could be to check Patch’s map of locations from last year. We can’t guarantee the locations will be the same this year, but it couldn’t hurt.

What else should you know

Trees, like everything else, may cost a little more this year, as growers answering the Real Christmas Tree Board’s survey said growing costs have increased.

Seventy-one percent of growers said they would likely increase wholesale prices. That means trees could cost anywhere from 5 percent to 20 percent or more.

Consumers seem to be taking the expected price hikes in stride.

“While our grower survey tells us wholesale prices are likely to be higher for real Christmas trees this year, our consumer survey tells us people expected as much,” Gray said in a statement. “The good news is fans of real Christmas trees say they believe the trees are worth the price, and they are willing to pay more this year if necessary to get one — and that’s not a surprise either.”

Fun Christmas tree history facts

The origin of the Christmas tree can be traced to long before the advent of Christianity, according to History.com.

In ancient times, it was commonly believed the sun was a god. It appeared to be sick as daylight waned in the winter, but evergreens thriving during winter were a reminder that the sun would become strong again and lush greenery and warmth would return.

Evergreen trees were seen as a symbol of eternal life among ancient Egyptians, Hebrews and Chinese. Pagans throughout Europe used evergreens in their homes to represent fertility and new life.

Christmas trees were first used by devout Christians in Germany.

The 16th century Protestant reformer Martin Luther is believed to have added lighted candles to trees. He was composing a sermon as he walked home on a winter evening and was struck by the sight of stars twinkling above the evergreens, and recreated the scene in a tree in his family’s main room.