The father waited for his son to get home from college this year before putting up a Christmas tree. His son's plane was delayed and so, too, was the tree-buying.
Way too delayed.
By Sunday, it appeared there wasn't a tree left in the city.
"Let's see, Mill and Feed, Lowe's, Home Depot," said John McKay, a local lawyer, as he listed 10 or so places he tried to find a seasonal fir.
"They didn't have any."
He called several spots in the Mat-Su. Nothing.
Short of cutting one down himself, a fresh Christmas tree couldn't be found in the Anchorage bowl. On Tuesday, almost all tree-seller in the city confirmed that they were sold out.
Over at Bell's Nursery, owner Mike Mosesian said he ran out of trees on Sunday. He'd adjusted his inventory since last year, when he had to throw away 60 of them, but figures he could have sold 100 more this year.
Trees are hot, he said. His theory is that it's a symptom of the dismal economy. People crave Christmas cheer.
"You look forward to something grand," he said. "Christmas is something grand."
Mosesian said he heard the same thing from his suppliers in Washington state.
"People were just buying trees like crazy this year."
And not just in Anchorage. The National Christmas Tree Association, which is based in Missouri, is hearing the same stories from all over the country.
There are no hard sales figures yet, but anecdotally the numbers are up, said Rick Dungey, an association spokesman.
"Most people are saying they are having a real good year."
Apparently, the main factors that influence tree sales are whether people are traveling and what it looks like outside. Travel by car is expected to be down 2 percent, compared to last year, and travel by air is projected to be down close to 9 percent, according to numbers from AAA, the motorists group.
In other words, more people are staying home for Christmas and buying a tree for their house.
As for how it looks outside, well -- look outside.
There are solutions for the unexpectedly treeless: In the Anchorage area, people are allowed to go into certain areas of the Chugach National Forest -- not Chugach State Park -- and cut a tree for personal use without a permit. One per household.
The other answer: Fake fir.
McKay, whose living-room is now aglitter thanks to a friend's fake tree, says he's learned his lesson. He won't wait around for returning college kids next year.
"When they come home, the tree will be waiting for them," he said.
Find Julia O'Malley at adn.com/contact/jomalley.
Important warning about e-mails purporting to be from the adn.com staff.