With Christmas now about a fortnight away, folks have been making lists and checking them twice in preparation for the festive season.
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Live Christmas trees are becoming more and more popular each year, yet Christmas tree suppliers are few and far between.
Two Christmas tree farms between Goulburn and the ACT have people coming as far as Sydney and Wagga Wagga to spend up.
One of them, the Christmas Tree Keng, sold its final tree two weeks ago and in only four days of opening for the season.
Regular customers were disappointed, but owner Keng Tan said, having turned 70 this year, he was ready to cut out of the business.
“My kids have just told me … they will be taking over,” he said. After 30 years of “really hard work”, he’ll “miss the excitement of families”.
Ziggy Kominek, from Santa's Shaped Christmas Trees, a 200-acre farm in Gundaroo, said he about 4000 trees to sell this year.
“People like the fresh smell of pine in small apartments, they like things fresh and live: [it feels] more like Christmas,” he said.
Yet, while demand is growing, the industry isn’t and few farmers are left to cater the market.
“People are flocking to the stand, but farmers aren’t flocking to the grounds,” Mr Kominek said.