The Christmas Tree Is In The Mail, Really

Every year about this time, Karl Litzinger waits eagerly for his mail-order Christmas tree to arrive at his doorstep in Wheaton, Ill., via United Parcel Service.

Forget about shivering in the cold at one of those corner lots, he said, picking through trees that are frozen stiff.

Litzinger wants that perfect tree, and he believes he gets it every year in a box from the Land O’ Pines nursery in Custer, Mich., which has been mailing Christmas trees since 1988.

“I’ve done it now for about six years,” said Litzinger, a network administrator for First National Bank of Chicago, who urges his friends to get their trees by mail from Land O’ Pines. “They’ve always been some of the best trees we’ve ever gotten, and competitively priced.”

Scotch pines and spruce go for $40 each, while firs sell for $50, delivered. Each is 5 to 6-1/2 feet tall.