How much more will holiday decorations cost this year? Expert breaks it down

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- A warning for all of Santa's elves out there: decking the halls is going to cost a lot more than usual this year.

The Grinch, of course, is tariffs.

Experts also said that if you need holiday décor to start looking for deals early and often this season.

Major retailers are buying less, which means they could sell out early.

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We get 87% of our Christmas decor, including nearly all artificial Christmas trees, from China, which is subject to tariffs.

And, almost all imported Christmas decor is subject to tariffs of 30% or higher. Tariffs on some items, like holiday lighting, can be as high as 63%.

"We expect prices to be about 10% to 15% higher and inventory to be a little bit thinner," said Jami Warner with the American Christmas Tree Association.

This impacts a lot of consumers because the American Christmas Tree Association has found that 83% of households are planning to choose an artificial tree.

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But since many retailers stocked fewer this year, experts recommend that you buy early.

"If you see something, you buy it. You don't wait, not don't even wait for Black Friday because we're not a hundred percent sure what the inventory is going to look like after Black Friday," Warner added.

On the flip side, we do have good news about real Christmas trees.

Of the wholesale growers surveyed, 84% said they do not plan to raise their wholesale prices this season. In fact, some say they may lower prices.