Sunday, downtown Minnesota Street was decked out with Christmas trees on every corner from 1st South Street to 4th North Street. The Christmas trees at the street corners are one of the holiday traditions that is continuing this year. The trees were provided by Hacker Tree farms.

Holiday decoration typically goes up in downtown New Ulm before Thanksgiving, but seasonal Christmas tree sales have started earlier this year.

A to Zinnia Florals & Gifts will hold its Christmas Tree open house next Friday, but sales of Christmas Trees has already started.

A to Zinnia employee Sara Dittbenner said sales were going very well and had started early.

Staff photo by Clay Schuldt Faith Wels held a seminar at A to Zinnia on creating a spruce pot. Every year, A to Zinnia holds classes on making homemade holiday decorations. Despite the pandemic, these classes have continued to be popular. A to Zinnia has hosted virtual seminars and small in-person classes.

“I think with the pandemic people have nowhere else to go and they want to make their homes pretty,” Dittbenner said.

Jim Crownin and his family decided to get their tree earlier this year. As Crownin tied the family tree to the roof of his vehicle, he said this was an early Christmas tree purchase for his family.

“The kids wanted to get one right away,” he said. The Crownin family settled on a Fraser Fir this year.

The Fraser is typically the most popular species of Christmas tree. Dittbenner said the Fraser tree was prized for its needle retention. The Fraser tended to last the longest. The only downside is the Fraser does not have a strong scent.

Canaan Firs are popular for their scent. The Canaan smells similar to Balsam trees, but is a stronger overall tree and is considered a hybrid of the Fraser and Balsam.

The Balsam’s are not as hardy of trees but are coming back into popularity. Dittbenner said since last year unpruned Balsam trees have grown in popularity. Usually, the trees are cut to retain the classic cone shape Christmas tree, but some people like the natural look of an uncut Balsam. The uncut Balsam is sometimes referred to as the “Charlie Brown Tree.”

Once a tree has been selected, the next step is decorating it. Every family has a preference for decorating. Dittbenner said in past years there was a trend of focusing on a single color, but now people were going back to the traditional decorations.

A to Zinnia owner Heather Hacker Hammer said inside the store they were using a vintage theme. Many decorations were based on the image of old red trucks.

The other common theme of this year was gnomes. For years, gnomes have played a role in New Ulm Christmas, but the popularity of gnomes has spiked in 2020.

“Gnomes are running wild,” Hammer said.

As Christmas gets closer the number of tree sales and decorations is expected to increase. A to Zinnia will hold the annual Christmas Tree Open House Friday, Nov. 27 and Saturday, Nov. 28. Free cookies and a free ornament will be given out with in-store purchases.