Lots and Lots of Christmas Choices : Traditions: When people pick a tree for the holidays, convenience and nostalgia are big influences. But these days, the perfect tree isn’t necessarily the prettiest--it’s the one at the right price.

Vicki Peterson and Kris Wallace used to spend $60 to $70 on a Christmas tree they bought through the L .L. Bean catalogue.

But that changed last year when their fresh-cut, Maine-grown tree was shipped to the wrong address. The Torrance couple made a quick trip to the local Target and picked a garden-variety fir.

This year, they returned in search of what Wallace described as “an old-fashioned standard (tree) like what we had when we were kids.”

As the annual rite of Christmas tree shopping swings into high gear, customers at tree lots in the South Bay and elsewhere seem to tap their memories--as well as gauging the thickness of their wallets--in making their selections.

“We’re tired of the nobles (firs),” Peterson said. “These are more old-fashioned. Full of holes.”

After a bit of good-humored negotiation, the couple seemed pleased with their selection, a scraggly 10-foot Douglas fir that had not been sheared. It was priced at $7.99.

A few feet away, Tony Kang painstakingly hoisted and untied one noble fir after another from four-foot piles as his mother and brother looked on, trying to choose.

Kang liked the price of the trees at Target, though the displays weren’t set up as nicely as elsewhere. “It’s a little harder to pick out trees, but I’m strong,” he said.

Satisfied with the tree he had bought here last year, Kang had returned in search of “the perfect triangle.” An hour later, he still hadn’t found it, but had settled for a handsome six-foot noble fir.

“It isn’t perfect, but it’s the best we found tonight,” he said.

At Corcoran’s Christmas Trees in Redondo Beach, Gail Fischvogt, her husband, Mike, and 2 1/2-year-old son, Ryan, selected a 7 1/2-foot Douglas fir for $44, complete with a water bucket and plastic disposal bag. Fischvogt had purchased her Halloween pumpkin at the lot and was promised a $5 discount if she returned to purchase a Christmas tree.

Choosing a Douglas fir was a natural choice, she said. “We always had that type when I was growing up. This one’s nice and full with no big bare spots on it,” she said.

Having just the right tree is important, Fischvogt said, especially this year because her son is “really into Christmas” for the first time.

Despite the troubled economy, people seem to be buying Christmas trees right on schedule, said Mike Corcoran, who runs the lot at the corner of Pacific Coast Highway and Diamond Street.

“I thought people would be buying smaller trees, but that hasn’t been the case,” he said.

At J’s Christmas Trees in the Sav-On parking lot on 190th Street and Anza Avenue in Torrance, Lorraine Alarid said she’s been selling a lot of smaller trees for offices and apartments. “It’s starting out slow because of the economy. A lot of people are pricing trees and shopping a lot more conservatively,” she said.

Across the street at Beach Christmas Trees, Janine Weinberg said the more expensive trees are moving, but people are going for the sparser “more Charlie Brown-looking” ones, referring to the Peanuts Christmas cartoon in which Charlie Brown comes home with a scrawny tree.

“It’s probably because their lives aren’t real full right now,” she speculated.

Her husband, Steve, noted that people are price-conscious these days.

“In other years, it was, ‘Let’s get the perfect tree.’ This year, it’s, ‘Let’s get the perfect tree at the right price.’ ”

Even those who appear to be above economic consideration are not immune, Weinberg observed. One woman drove up a few days ago in her top-of-the-line Mercedes and haggled with him over the price of an eight-foot noble fir.

“It was $56. I let her have it for $53, and she complained about the sales tax,” he said.

Still, he wouldn’t trade the experience of selling the trees for anything, said Weinberg, a commercial real estate broker with Matlow-Kennedy Corp. who is selling and delivering Christmas trees during his vacation.

“When I deliver these trees . . . and see the kids peeking out the window, it’s great,” Weinberg said. “In the end, I’m selling happiness.”

Tree Tips and Facts Types of Trees

* Douglas fir: Needles are from three-quarters to 1 1/2 inches long, with a deep yellow-green to dark blue-green color. Needles are arranged in a “bottle-brush” manner around the branch.

* Noble fir: Layered, more open-looking tree. Needles are darker green and grow from the underside of the branch, giving it a flattened appearance.

* Scotch pine: Bushy tree with short needles and bottle-brush-like branches. Popular in the East and Midwest, but rarely sold in the Southland.

Keeping a Tree Fresh

* Before setting up the tree, cut the trunk straight across, slicing off about half an inch. The fresh cut allows the tree to drink water.

* Put the tree in a sturdy tree stand that holds at least one gallon of water. Add water daily. An average six-foot tree can drink about one gallon of water per day.

* If more than a few hours elapse between the time the trunk is re-cut and the time it is put in water, or if the water level drops below the cut end, a seal will form that will prevent the tree from drinking water. A new cut will be necessary.

Christmas Trees in California

* Top California seller: sheared plantation Douglas fir.

* Californians buy 6 million Christmas trees annually. At an average cost of $25, about $150 million of trees are sold each year.

* 75% of trees bought by Californians come from out of state, chiefly from Oregon and Washington.

Source: California Christmas Tree Growers Assn.