SARASOTA – With two weeks left until Ol’ Saint Nick arrives, Suncoast residents are rushing to get that perfect Christmas trees in time for time for the holidays.
“I got big trees, I got small trees, I got skinny trees, I got wide trees, I got trees that look like bells, I got trees that look like cones, I got trees,” said Reginald Barclay.
Across the Suncoast you’ll find an array of Christmas tree vendors looking to sell you that perfect tree. Tents and Events, a tent rental company, switched their focus to selling the festive trees just in time for Santa Claus arrival.
“We have Canadian Firs, we have Fraser Firs which come from North Carolina and Michigan,” said Barclay.
Barclay has been helping in the Christmas trees business since he was 16-years-old. He says when it comes to the perfect tree people look for symmetry. “They want symmetrical, seven to eight feet somewhere in that neighborhood nice and triangular conical if you will,” he said.
Crystal Stephens and her family were on the hunt for their Christmas tree. Stephens says she’s the matriarch of choosing the tree and her family is charge of decorating.
“It has to be symmetrical, it has to look pretty and be all filled in, so I think I care a little bit more than these guys,” said Stephens. “They like decorating it more.”
And in the old age debate Barclay says you can’t beat a natural tree.
“The smell, the aesthetic, just the Christmas magic that pours out of each one of these needles is just unparalleled,” said Barclay. “You can’t get that in a box at K-Mart.”
Tents and Events have tree vendor located in Venice, on Fruitville Road in front of the Robarts Arena and near the intersection of Beneva and Proctor Road. They’re open seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.