Shoppers flock to Santa Cruz for Christmas trees

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (KGO) -- Not everyone was in a rush to find Black Friday specials at the mall. Some headed out to find a Christmas tree. For some, it's a tradition to cut down a fresh tree in the Santa Cruz Mountains. They're big. They're small and every size in between.

"Big and fluffy. That's all we look for. Big and fluffy," said Judith Grogan of Burlingame.

Hundreds of families have made the trek into the Santa Cruz mountains, some after and some instead of Black Friday madness.

"My daughter went to the mall last night at 11 o'clock at night and got home at 3 in the morning, but there's no way I'm going to be there today. It's just too crazy. This is so much more fun," said Judy Pfaff of San Jose.

The search isn't for the best bargain, but the best tree because it's a flat $50 for any size. A family from Campbell got one over 10-feet-tall.

"We do do a little prayer for it before we cut it down every year," said Tracy Young of Campbell.

Others head to the corner tree lot. One at St. Christopher's in San Jose is a fundraiser for the church.

The trees are just now starting to arrive from Oregon where there's a shortage of Douglas Fir trees. So the price on that tree is going up about $2.

Oregon growers say demand is higher this year. Still, an average sized, pre-cut tree can be $20 cheaper than cutting one at a tree farm.

Three-year-old Rocco DePalma thinks his new tree is awesome.

Best available research indicates real trees outsell artificial ones two-to-one, but more families are weighing environmental merits of both. Pre-lit artificial trees can cost from $150 to $1200 but last several years.

"Should we be cutting down these trees, or should we be using something again and again, over and over. Of course, we have concerns at our house about creating more waste by buying something like this as opposed to getting a natural tree year in and year out. So it's a real debate that we actually haven't made a final decision yet at our house," said Holly Elkins of San Jose.

Whatever the choice, the holiday spirit is alive.