This November and December, designers and flooring professionals come together for a fun, festive competition where they create themed Christmas trees based on ideas appropriate for kids in J+J Flooring’s 8th annual Helping Hands initiative. 

Nick and Robert head to the world's largest Christmas tree auction with $1,000 and a truck. And get schooled in the tree market. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter here.

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*Note: This episode originally ran in 2020*

'Tis the season for Americans to head out in droves and bring home a freshly-cut Christmas tree. But decorative evergreens don't just magically show up on corner lots, waiting to find a home in your living room. There are a bunch of fascinating steps that determine exactly how many Christmas trees get sold, and how expensive they are.

Today on the show, we visit the world's largest auction of Christmas trees — and then see how much green New Yorkers are willing to throw down for some greenery. It's a story where snow-dusted Yuletide dreams meet the hard reality of supply and demand. We've got market theory, a thousand dollars in cash, and a "decent sized truck"... anything could happen.

This episode was produced by James Sneed. It was edited by Bryant Urstadt. It was engineered by Gilly Moon. Alex Goldmark is Planet Money's executive producer.

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Appearing in Magistrates Court this morning [Jan 13], a man denied stealing 23 Christmas trees.. Ezra Barnett, plead not guilty to a chargé that on 8th December 2014, he stole 23 Christmas trees that belonged to the Shelly Bay Marketplace store. Mr Barnett was granted $2,000 bail and given a trial date in late April 2015. […]

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