Ashley Marvas said she’ll have to scale back her Christmas a bit this year.

That means smaller stockings for her two young toddlers and, she said with a grin, cheaper gifts for the in-laws.

But more seriously, Marvas said she and her husband won’t be exchanging gifts. And for the first time in recent memory, her family won’t be making their yearly holiday skiing trip to northern Minnesota.

Times, she said, are getting tough and the economy has affected her family in real ways. But despite it all — or, perhaps more accurately, in spite of it all — Marvas said she’s determined to have a real Christmas tree. And she’s equally determined to do it the way her father did in her childhood — with saw in hand and twine in tow.

“The worse it gets, the more people need trees,” Marvas said. “To me, the Christmas tree is just the ideal image of a happy family.”

Fact is, Christmas tree farms are hard to find. Those who want to choose and cut their own are having to travel farther and wider.

The family of John and Kate Stites drove from Edina to cut their own tree Sunday at Brewery Hill Christmas Trees in Le Sueur.

Al and Jodi Zeitz traveled all the way from Fairmont to find the perfect Fraser fir at Guggisberg Farms near New Ulm.

Having relocated several times during their marriage, the Zeitz family has cut their own Christmas trees all across the country, from Washington to Arizona to Iowa. For them, like so many others, the annual trek has become a tradition.

“We cut our tree every year,” Al said. “But it’s getting tough to find places.”

Tony Guggisberg opened his family tree farm after customers of his nursery business began inquiring about Christmas trees. But he was hesitant about the investment because a tree farm takes nearly 10 years after first planting to mature — and that’s a long time to wait for a return.

But Tony and wife, Marie, took the leap and planted thousands of trees on their beautiful, rolling farm acreage southwest of New Ulm. The family farm is now in its third year open to the public and features two large growing plots and eight varieties of trees.

Guggisberg, like most cut-your-own farms, opened for the season on Friday. And according to Tony’s records, they doubled their sales from last year’s opening day.

“It’s so much fun to see all the couples and all the families come out to the farm,” said Marie, her six young children scurrying about to help pour cider, run the cash register and cut twine. “We really enjoy it.”

But while the image of the Christmas tree endures, tastes do not.