With snow still draping many of the evergreens around Carbon County, hundreds of families took their saws and measuring sticks into the fields this past weekend in search of that perfect Christmas tree.

According to the National Christmas Tree Association, around 25 million to 30 million real Christmas trees are sold each year in the United States.In 2013, the industry raked in $1.16 billion at an average of $35.30 per real tree, according to a consumer survey.That was the highest total dollar figure since 2007 and local farms are hoping for another successful year in 2014.Employees at Hill Farms, along Gilberts Hill Road in Lehighton, said business was been steady throughout the weekend, with customers enjoying the scenery of snow throughout the farm while it lasts.Best time to buy"When Thanksgiving is late like it is this year, things really get bustling quickly," said Tara Hill, of Hill Farms. "We're really looking forward to a great season as I think more people are aware of the shop local movement and looking to local tree farms as opposed to the big box stores. We also have a lot of repeat customers, both local and from New Jersey and New York."Tara's husband, Jeff, said opening weekend is usually the busiest for the family's farm, while Walker's Tree Farm, along Spruce Street in Lehighton, reported the best sales on the first weekend in December."A lot of people have been coming the first weekend because I think a lot of them want to beat the rush," said Sandy Walker. "Next weekend is traditionally our busiest weekend. But I think the snow adds to it and that has a led to an increase over Thanksgiving weekend."Yenser's Tree Farm in Mahoning Township sold 315 trees on opening weekend, according to Drew Yenser."Next weekend is traditionally our busiest, but the trend has been to get them up right after Thanksgiving," he said. "People are buying early and we think it's going to continue both on the retail and wholesale end. We have been getting a lot of callbacks on wholesale orders."A tree-cutting traditionPicking a tree is a serious task for many families including the Sartis, who travel from New Jersey to Lehighton each year to pick out their prize."We've turned it into a really nice family tradition over the last three or four years," Anthony Sarti said, while looking over the Hill Farms fields with his daughter Rachel. "We'll grab dinner at P.J. Whelihan's and make a really great day out of it."While the NCTA reports that pre-cut trees are favored by 85 percent of consumers, the cut-your-own business still provides a sense of holiday tradition for many customers.Brent Ryan of Jim Thorpe said he feels a lot of the thrill would be lost if he didn't cut down his own Christmas tree."It's part of the fun of it," he said. "We come out with our two sons and we'll hunt for probably longer than we should and pick a bigger tree than we probably should, but that is part of the Christmas season."Ryan's choice this year came in at a modest 11 feet, 4 inches.Setting the sceneAt Walker's, customers enjoyed a horse-and-tractor-drawn wagon ride into the 100-acre farm on Thanksgiving weekend.The horses will return for the next two weekends."I think our family has been getting our tree here for as long as I can remember," said Patti Sullivan, of Penn Forest Township. "It's a great atmosphere, especially this year with the snow on the ground. It's supposed to get warmer and we didn't want to wait and lose the opportunity to experience this."Like many area farms, Walker's business was steady throughout opening weekend.Sandy Walker said she believes it will be a good season."We've been getting a lot of calls the past few days so I have a positive outlook," she said. "People are always excited to come get their tree."The farm is also one of many in the area that participates in the Trees for Troops program. Customers can buy a tree and have it shipped to a military base or military family.Popular and bestLocally, tree prices range from $4.95-per-foot to $10-per-foot depending on the size and type of tree.At Hill Farms, the popular early seller is the Frasier fir as well as exotic firs like Nordman and Turkish fir."We're in our third year of selling the exotic firs and we really haven't had anyone come back and say we didn't like those trees," said Steve Hill. "They are different and beautiful. People may come for a different style of tree, but they see them and say that's what I want."The Douglas fir came in slightly ahead of the Frasier fir at Yenser's, a fact that surprised Drew."Usually the Frasier is more popular," he said. "I'm not sure what the reasoning is for that. The Douglas is cheaper but only by a few dollars."The Douglas fir is the best growing tree in the region, Yenser said."Frasiers are native to North Carolina in the mountains where they get a mist every morning until about 10 or 11 a.m.," he said. "Here we get sun right away and it hurts us a little bit."