By Hannah Ellington, Editor-in-Chief
The little girl’s eyes lit up as she dashed between the forest of Fraser firs, the smell of familiar pine wafting through the air. Strung up lights shone down on her as she admired each tree, gawking at the tallest, fullest ones and imagining the presents sitting beneath them come Christmas day.
“It’s like Christmas tree land!” she exclaimed as she zoomed off again, this time her eyes set on an even taller one.
And for anyone stuck deciding between two trees, unsure which looks best, the workers are happy to offer their opinion. One such person, senior Sam Robinson, works at Cold Creek Wreath and Tree next to Longboard’s in Kitty Hawk.
Growing up, Robinson always went to the Cold Creek stand to get his Christmas tree. When it was time to find a job his freshman year, Robinson decided he would stray from the normal and work at the place that had brought his family joy for many years.
“I thought it would be cool to give back. I love it, honestly,” Robinson said.
Robinson spends his shift cutting the an quarter inch or so off the stumps and low-hanging branches off the Christmas trees, netting them, slinging them on top of cars and securing them to the roof. A shift typically lasts from 9 a.m. to 8 or 9 at night.
One downside, though, is the weather. Since this month-long job only happens in November and December, the temperature is downright frigid at times. However, one can always find Robinson wrapped up in his grandfather’s Army jacket.
“You get used to it real quick,” he said.
In addition to dealing with the brisk weather, the trees can sometimes be heavy and sticky with sap.
“My hands will be black (from sap). It’s hard to get off your skin, no doubt, but clothes, you just throw them through the wash,” Robinson said.
Once a family has picked out their tree and it has gone through the baler to be netted, Robinson must tie it on top of the family’s car. That final job must be done correctly or else the tree could fall off – a Christmas catastrophe.
“It took me about a week to learn how to tie a knot. (The knot is) nothing special, it was just learning how to tie it around the car,” Robinson said.
And of course, Robinson enjoys giving advice to the Christmas tree shoppers.
“Let the lady do the work because she is going to anyway,” Robinson said with a laugh.
Junior Gabe Long also sells Christmas trees, working at Reynolds’ Christmas Tree Lot in Nags Head next to the OBBC Surf Shop. While he only started working there in November, he also has plenty of experience carrying Christmas trees, putting replacement trees out to fill empty spots, and helping families find their perfect tree.
“I have some friends that work there, too, so it’s kind of cool to get to hang out with them. I (also) get coffee,” Long said, laughing.
Long also enjoys pointing the families in the right direction for the kind of tree they like. The secret to a good tree is “by its height and how full it is,” Long explained.
Working with an abundance of Christmas trees, wreaths and candy canes may get a little repetitive at times but Robinson and Long agree that it’s not all that bad.
“It’s awesome because no one ever comes to pick out a Christmas tree in a bad mood, so there’s definitely a part of the Christmas spirit there,” Robinson said.
Senior Hannah Ellington can be reached at ellingtonha1214@daretolearn.org.
