Fresh-cut Christmas trees are flying out of sales lots and forests, and into homes as fast as Santa’s sleigh makes its rounds.

With COVID-19 limiting options for places to go and things to do, holiday revelers seem to be getting a jump-start on bringing more cheer into their lives by putting up a tree.

“People are home more, and they want to get their tree and decorations up early so they can enjoy them for the month of December,” said Sharon Harding-Shaw, whose family owns Harding Nursery in Colorado Springs.

Sales of 1,300 piñon pine and five fir tree varieties began the week before Thanksgiving, and just 400 are left, she said.

“We’re really busy — busier than usual,” she said.

Jerry Tittel, whose family of four generations has been selling Christmas trees for more than 50 years on lots in Colorado Springs, Falcon and Pueblo, wasn’t sure what the pandemic would mean for business. 

It’s been an unexpected Christmas present; sales are up 15%.

“People are choosing to stay home and enjoy Christmas with their families, which is probably the best meaning of the holiday,” Tittel said.

Live trees are appealing because of their aromatic scent, the ambience they create and the tradition, he said.

Over the past 15 years, Americans have preferred to put their presents under a real tree, according to statistics from the National Christmas Tree Association, which reports that 26.2 million real trees were sold nationwide in 2019. The median price: $76.87, according to the association’s annual market survey.

Despite the popularity of live trees, which is expected to increase nationwide this year largely because of the pandemic, the National Christmas Tree Association reports there will be enough supply to meet the demand.

“We’re seeing the holiday spirit — people coming in with families to pick a tree,” said Alvin Jiron, an associate at Rick’s Garden Center in Colorado Springs, which has hosted a steady stream of customers selecting from nine kinds of trees since last week. “I’m hearing a lot that they’ve got to find one that speaks to them.”

Residents also are eager to head to the forest to chop down a tree.

Nearly double the number of Christmas tree-cutting permits have been sold to date over last year for six U.S. Forest Service districts in the Pike and San Isabel National Forests and Cimarron and Comanche National Grasslands, spokeswoman Crystal Young said.

And there are still several weeks to trek to the woods with your printed-out permit, an ax, warm clothes, rope, a tarp and other essentials.

The most popular areas on the South Platte Ranger District in Conifer have sold out permits for the season, Young said.

Of the 17,000 permits purchased across the districts, 3,000 were bought in the past five days for the two cutting sites in the Pikes Peak Ranger District. The areas where trees can be cut are off North Highway 67 outside Woodland Park and in Divide.

If the pace continues, rangers project they might sell about double the average permit sales by Christmas Day, Young said.

Reasons she cites include the recent mild weather, moving the majority of permit sales online instead of in-person, neighboring Arapaho Roosevelt National Forests and Pawnee National Grassland closing two of three areas because of damage from recent wildland fires and increased interest in outdoor recreation during the pandemic.

“By allowing people to take these species and specific size of trees, the public is helping us thin the trees and manage the forest,” Young said. “The most important aspect is that, overall, the program has been well received by the public this year.”

Permits can be purchased at recreation.gov.

At Fort Carson, 500 military families won’t have to go far for a real tree. They’ll receive fresh-cut Christmas trees from a farm on Friday and Saturday as part of the annual Trees for Troops project sponsored by FedEx Freight and the Christmas SPIRIT Foundation.

More than 15,000 trees will be delivered to 79 military bases representing all branches across the country over the next few weeks by the 16-year-old program that shows appreciation for military families.