It's Not Christmas Without a Trip to Klicker's

It's part treasure hunt, part measurement, part merriment – finding the perfect Christmas tree with the family is one of the traditions that makes the holiday. In Walla Walla, it's not Christmas without a visit to Klicker's Christmas Trees.

If there's one thing the Klicker family knows, it's tradition. They've been in Walla Walla since the late 1800s – long enough to have a mountain bear the family name.

The Klickers have a Christmas tree field in the Blue Mountains near their homestead, and they have other tree fields along Mill Creek. They plant thousands of firs each year. Workers spend a month and a half each year shearing the branches in order to get make them the perfect Christmas tree shape. When the trees are around 10-15 years old, they'll be harvested.

Located next to Klicker's Berries and Antiques, Klicker's Christmas Trees will sell a few thousand firs during the holiday season. Nobles and White firs are the most popular, Dan Klicker said. He represents the fourth generation of Klickers. His father began the Christmas tree arm of the family business in the 1950s. They take special care of a small group of Nordmann firs, which Dan said make the prettiest Christmas trees. But as any experienced tree hunter knows, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.