Considering making the switch from a real tree to a fake one this Christmas? You might want to reconsider: according to one major garden centre in the Netherlands, the price of artificial trees has risen by 10 percent this year, while the cost of buying a real tree has remained about the same.
Recently, artificial Christmas trees have become an increasingly popular option amongst families and households looking for a more sustainable alternative to the traditional fir. While a high-quality artificial tree has always come with a rather hefty price tag, NU reports that this year prices have risen by a whopping 10 percent.
Talking to NU, Intratuin’s Peter Paul Kleinbussink explained that the cost of transporting the fake trees from Asia has risen considerably since last Christmas. Meanwhile, Gerard Krol from the Dutch Association of Christmas Tree Growers (VNK), says that higher fuel and transport costs will have a limited impact on the price of real trees.
Do the higher prices mean the Netherlands is set to experience a slightly less festive holiday season in 2022? Kleinbussink doesn’t think so: "People are not going to cut back on socialising, especially not in crisis years.” Although, he does expect that people will spend a little less on outdoor lighting because of the high cost of energy.
Krol, on the other hand, has noticed that families are returning to the more traditional ways, and are now more likely to opt for a real tree over a fake one. He advises anyone who is planning on going for a real fir to be sure to water their tree regularly and generously to ensure it lasts all the way through the holidays to Epiphany on January 6.