TEMPLE, Texas – Supply chain inadequacies, labor shortages, and high transportation costs are the same story for different products this holiday season.

This time it’s a product that takes years to develop. No one is the same. And as the holiday season approaches, we all expect to be able to buy one: a Christmas tree.

“Right now our farms are getting ready and they have enough supply,” said Stan Reed, Executive Director, Texas Christmas Tree Growers Association.

“The supply chain issue has been a big thing on almost everyone’s mind for everything this year. ”

This year, supply chain issues for artificial plastic trees are driving high demand for Christmas trees.

“I know most of these artificial trees are coming from the United States and they’re not going to hit the market,” he said.

Reed said Texans looking for a living tree this year shouldn’t wait too long before heading out to the field or farm.

“Buy early,” he said. “Because if you wait until December, or a week before Christmas, you probably won’t find any living trees.”

The Robinson family farm at Temple is open this weekend for Christmas trees and wreaths. The experience of buying a tree here is a bit like unwrapping that perfect gift.

“Choosing a Christmas tree is like choosing a wedding dress,” said Helen Robinson. “They are different for everyone.”

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The Fraser Fir Christmas trees you find here are from Godfather Mountain in North Carolina.

“The very first year I walked into the Christmas trees, I planted, but it quickly turned into a field of sunflowers,” Brian Robinson joked.

And if last year is any indicator, Fraser firs from the Robinson Family Farm are in high demand.

“We had 1,500 trees last year and sold them in eight days,” he said.

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This year Robinson has actually been able to bring in more trees, but there is a problem, well a few.

“We got a few hundred more, but the problem is that shipments have increased. “

It’s a story that consumers find on every corner in today’s economy.

“The problem is that the shipment has increased in terms of lumber,” said Robinson. “They pay the drivers a lot more to haul wood. So it’s hard to find a driver and the shipping rate between the cost of diesel and everything else and the availability of the bigger trees as well.”

To deal with the shipping costs, Robinson said the price for his customers was higher.

“I had to increase the price just because the price of my shipping costs went up,” Robinson said. “But in terms of margin, I kept my margin the same. So if I won 20 percent more on a tree or 10 percent more, I just increased the same amount, so I do. still as much as I was last year. ”

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But like most products this holiday season, despite higher prices, consumer demand has shown no signs of abating. And Robinson’s and Reed are expecting a wave of buyers before we get to December.

“I think we can get through Black Friday weekend, but I’m afraid we weren’t going in December, I really am,” said Robinson. “I would suggest anyone if they want a real Robinson Family Farm Christmas tree to come out here and get it ASAP.”

Reed said he believes everyone in the market for a living tree will be able to get one, but the purchase will help families avoid the risk of running into thinner selection in tree lots and trees. firm.

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“If you wait too long, it’s kind of like anything,” Reed explained. “If you try to get this toy for Johnny and wait until the end. It’s like that movie jingle all the way. You’re not going to find it.