The Best Christmas Trees In Salem

   If you're still driving around town searching for that perfect Christmas tree for your parlor at a price that won't break the bank, there's a place right here in Salem that is definitely worth your while to check out. Getting your annual evergreen at the SALEM EXCHANGE CLUB will enable you to get a superb, full-branched tree at a reasonable price, while at the same time lend your support to over 30 local and worthy Salem charities.

   The Salem Exchange Club has existed for over 45 years here, and their Christmas tree sales location is on Route 28 south (Broadway) across from the Salem Cooperative Bank and right next to Daisy Cleaners. Being a "real-tree" aficionado my whole life, I'd been buying from an acquaintance at another location for about 20 years. As he has relocated to Florida, this year I actually had to shop around for the first time for my arboreal holiday fix. 

   You won't find a larger supply of rich, beautiful Canadian evergreens anywhere in Salem than you will at the Salem Exchange Club, all with prices ranging from $40 - $70 (my choice turned out to be a 7-foot beauty that at $40 was nearly TWICE as tall and far thicker than the similarly-priced Lilliputians I had  checked out earlier at a couple other local venues). CLUB volunteers obtain and truck the trees back to Salem themselves as opposed to paying another company to do it (their 18-wheeler is located right in the parking lot), which allows them to sell a **** tree at a *** price.

   Bonnie Breen has managed the operation for the past 25 years, and she numbers among her staff a team of the nicest Salem high-schoolers you'll ever have the pleasure of chatting with, most of whom also belong to the Junior ROTC. ALL OF THE PROCEEDS from their Christmas tree sales go to local causes, among them Dollars For Scholars, the Salem Boys and Girls Club, Salem Animal Rescue League, the Salem Fire and Police departments, as well as the food pantries located in Salem, Windham, Pelham and Derry. And with the heightened sense of charitableness that most of us feel during this special time of year, we're lucky that we have a place where with one purchase we can help out a bunch of deserving organizations, which you'll be reminded of every time you look at your decorated masterpiece in your home.

   MERRY CHRISTMAS!