Christmas Tree lot sees spike in customers this year

It’s officially the holiday season and with that comes the holiday tradition of Christmas tree shopping.

“These trees come from our farm in Oregon and I’ve been selling Christmas trees in Cathedral City since 1980," Verlyn Aerni told News Channel 3 at the Aerni Family Christmas Tree lot on Ramon and Date Palm.

Aerni and his family’s Christmas trees are selling faster this year than ever before. He started selling trees the day before Thanksgiving and already he’s sold over 60 trees.

“I think people are just more family oriented this year because of the virus,” Aerni said.

With a steady stream of business, he said he’s taking the virus very seriously.

“We have sanitizers and all of the crew wear a mask," Aerni said. "We require the people that come in to wear masks also," he added.

You’ll see arrows around the Christmas tree lot on the floor, a recommendation made by the National Christmas Tree Association to help the flow of traffic and all trees are spaced six feet a part. Read more guidelines from the NCTA here: https://bit.ly/3o3cfLF

“Buying a Christmas tree is a family event and I’ve noticed this year in the short time we’ve been here that the families staff together and they respect that spacing.” Aerni said.

Whether you’re buying a three-foot tree for $25 or a 16-foot tree for $450, Aerni wants people to feel safe and also the spirit of Christmas while shopping.

“We decided to come a little bit earlier this year because with everything that’s been going on with the COVID, people out of work and everything, we’re just looking to bring a lot of joy into the house so we’re going to put up our decorations inside and outside and hoping to spread some joy,” Cindy Rippley told News Channel 3 while shopping for the perfect tree.

For more information on Aerni Family Christmas Trees visit: facebook.com/AerniTrees