Christmas trees all the rage in year of the pandemic

Christmas came early for many people this year as they decorated for the holidays in the hope of providing a little cheer in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Nowhere was that more evident locally than at First Congregational Church in Port Washington, which sold out of its Christmas trees in what parish officials said was likely record time.

The 415 trees on the parish’s lot went on sale Nov. 27 and were all sold by Dec. 14, Beckie Perez, the church’s office administrator, said.

“I don’t think we’ve ever sold out that quickly,” Perez said. “It was a record year with everyone in a festive mood, ready to get a tree.

“It was almost like we turned around, looked and said, ‘Where did they all go?’”

Two trees were donated to the Port Food Pantry, Perez said.

“We could have sold them, but it was important to support the Food Pantry,” she said.

Perez attributed the quick sale to both the weather — temperatures remained relatively stable and above freezing — and the pandemic.

“For a lot of people, even those who have artificial trees, I think this was a theme, let’s get something fresh and lift our spirits,” she said. “Everyone seemed to feel like this was the year for a fresh tree.”

While in other years the church would have ordered more trees when the first batch sold out, that wasn’t possible this year, Perez noted.

“There was a shortage,” she said. “Most places, you had to order by July.

“Even if we wanted more trees, there was nothing there to get. They were nowhere to be found.”

Shoppers were cheerful, Perez said, and when they purchased trees they were rewarded with a wooden ornament made by the church’s schoolchildren and teens in the Port Pride program.

“It was a little something for them to take with them, the first ornament on their tree,” Perez said.

The sale was “seamless from beginning to end,” she added.

“We’re very, very well supported, which is important for us since it’s our only fundraiser during the year,” Perez said.