When the turkey is eaten, the trees will arrive

It was the kids that brought Adam Torres and his family to the Christmas tree lot in Carson City on Saturday.≠

His daughter Natalie and son Alex huddled around their mother as the family browsed the trees for the perfect one - not too big and not too small, between five and seven feet tall, Torres said.

Todd Tetrault, owner of the natural Christmas tree business by Craft Market in Carson City, said they usually open for business the day after Thanksgiving, fanning out their firs and putting up Christmas decorations. They've been doing it for 13 years, Tetrault said, as a winter compliment to his summer landscaping business.

"Because we've been here so long, we've seen a lot of repeat customers," he said. "We've seen some of their kids grow up over the past 13 years."

Tetrault, of Carson City, orders his trees from Salem, Ore. He said his Grand, Noble, Nordmann, and Douglas firs are hardy enough to survive through the holidays without becoming tinder, provided you keep it watered.

But they still are perishable and that's part of the reason he won't follow retailer's leads and push his Christmas business out before Thanksgiving.

"It's ridiculous," Tetrault said, noting that some retailers put out fresh trees on Nov. 15. "You might be able to push some retail items, but not perishable goods. I mean, some people like to keep their trees up until January."

Tetrault said he hopes to sell about 350 trees this year - about half of what he was selling when the economy was booming.

It's hard to say how much the artificial tree market is cutting into the business, he said. Several families will switch every year because the family members have different preferences,

he said.