While some families were still recovering from turkey and stuffing on Friday, others were eager to start the Christmas season and pick out their new tree.

At the Earl Warren Showgrounds in Santa Barbara, families wandered through rows of Christmas trees, examining each for height, fullness and width.

The trees are kept under a large red and white tent managed by Anthony’s Christmas Trees.

One of the families looking at the trees includes multiple generations. Each year after Thanksgiving, they look for their annual tree.

“Growing up, the day after Thanksgiving was more exciting than Thanksgiving because it was Christmas tree day,” Laura Steinfeldt said.

She said the family called the event “D-Day,” which stood for decorating day.

Steinfeldt said she appreciates that she can carry on the tradition to the next generation.

“My parents took us, and now we come with my daughter,” she said. “So, it’s fun — three generations buying Christmas trees.”

Her father, Trey Pinner, said that aside from buying a family tree, he usually gets a larger, 35-foot tree for the Coast Village Association’s tree lighting, which this year is set for next Thursday.

Ben Wisner said his family usually gets their tree later in December, but Thanksgiving fell in a later part of the month this year.

He said his family tends to get the biggest tree they can fit in their living room, and they hope to start decorating it as soon as they get it home.

“We like the noble firs,” he said. “We like something with a good fragrance to it.”

In Buellton, the Agin Family Christmas Trees lot on Industrial Way was mostly set up late Friday morning as Trace Agin unwrapped and stood fresh-cut trees.

“I started on this side of the valley in 2010,” Agin said. “The other lot we started in ’81.”

He was preparing for the first busy weekend of the season and said customers usually begin showing up as soon as the lots open the day after Thanksgiving.

He said the best part of running the lot is meeting the people who stop in.

“Dealing with people in a good mood,” Agin said. “Smiles on their faces. Happy to do it.”

He said the lot carries four varieties of trees, including Nordmann fir, noble fir, Douglas fir and grand fir.

“The noble fir is the most popular, but the Nordmann is on the rise because it looks a lot like the noble fir, but has a few different variations,” Agin said.

He said the noble fir tends to be a favorite because of its durability, noting that it has “stronger branches” and “holds its needles longer” while supporting heavier ornaments.

He said the Nordmann shares many of those qualities, but offers a different experience.

“The heartiest tree maybe, with the least amount of needles,” he said. “But it has very little smell, and people aren’t allergic to it.”

Amy Freedman, who moved to Buellton with her family in 2008, said they have been coming to the Agin lot since it opened in 2012. 

“I have a college kid this year, and she wanted to make sure that the tree is up before she went back to school,” she said. “We all like to have Christmas up as long as we can, so we start right after Thanksgiving.”

Freedman said her son spotted the tree right away and that their labradoodle, Willie, who has been part of the tradition for seven or eight years, gave it the final sniffs of approval. She added that decorating together is one of her favorite parts of Christmas.

“The kids’ ornaments usually go first,” she said. “All the ornaments are handpicked, special.”

Before leaving, the family posed for a photo at the lot’s hay-bale setup, a stop they make every year.

“We would always come here when they were kids,” she said. “It’s always been our place.”

Agin, who typically sells about 400 trees each season, said keeping families coming back starts with getting fresh trees to the lot.

“We’re really lucky that we’re from a smaller grower,” he said. “Ours were cut two days before they were shipped on Monday.”

Agin offered a few tips for keeping a tree looking good through December. 

“Turn the temperature of your house down,” he said. “Don’t put it in a window. Don’t let it run out of water.”

Both locations of Agin Family Christmas Trees are open seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., rain or shine. The Santa Ynez lot is at 3450 Baseline Ave., and the Buellton lot is at 270 Industrial Way. Agin accepts cash, check or Venmo payments.

Anthony’s Christmas Trees has a setup at the Earl Warren Showgrounds, 3400 Calle Real in Santa Barbara, through Dec. 24. The lot will be open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday, from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, and from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sundays.