Hundreds of people poured into Christmas tree farms in Massachusetts on Friday for the first day of the Christmas tree-cutting season. 

"We like to call it 'Green Friday', said Lisa Vandervalk, whose family owns the Vandervalk Farm & Winery in Mendon, Massachusetts. 

As families wandered the rows of evergreens in search of the perfect tree, one young shopper told WBZ-TV,  "We're looking for like a big tree, and we like it when there's like a little bit of blue on it."

For many, the trip to the farm is an annual tradition. 

"It's been seven years now we're coming here," said Greg Gelano. 

"We want to start it as a family tradition," said Crystal Sullivan, another shopper. 

Artificial trees going up in price due to tariffs

This year, cutting your own tree may be more cost-effective than buying an artificial one in the store. 

"All of our Christmas trees, big or small, are $100," Vandervalk said. 

Peter Young said he contemplated buying an artificial tree, "Because just all the pine needles, like we still have them from two years ago in our apartment."

He says the rising price for plastic trees, primarily made in Asia and subject to President Trump's tariffs, pushed his family back to the real-tree experience. 

For the Vandervalks, the value goes far beyond cost. "We like to say that real trees make sense, in more ways than one," Lisa said.

"There's something about the experience just going out here spending time with the family," Young added. 

The boom in business for Vandervalk Farm comes just one year after a drought killed off at least 500 of their trees.