Spreading swedish cheer

EVERGREENING

by OLIVIA KELLEY

Every year after Thanksgiving, David Ljungvist and his brother, Andre Blomqvist, leave their jobs and homes in Sweden to come sell Christmas trees on the corner of Second Avenue and 88th Street.

“I’ve been here for eight years now. I think I’ve found every year I come back; I just like this street because the people are so friendly — the people that walk by. You get to know everyone — you get to know the shoe repair and the barber shop and you get into Toolbox, which is the gay bar, and you go there on the weekends and you just get to know everybody,” said Ljungvist.

Blomqvist joined his brother in the business three years ago.

“I hope people will come back here. It feels like everyone we sell to is very happy at least. I love making people happy otherwise I wouldn’t be doing this,” he said. They get the happiest when they get a cheap good tree and they feel like, ’we made a bargain and we can come home and have this tree for the month and be happy and come back next year and get a similar tree.’ That’s kind of the experience we wanna give.”