Thanksgiving turkeys are still thawing in the refrigerator, and already the state Department of Agriculture has welcomed two shipments of Christmas trees with another expected to reach shore Saturday, but the numbers might fall short of last year’s, a department spokeswoman said.

"They can’t really tell, but it seems like there are a little less containers coming this year," said Janelle Saneishi.

So far, the department expects 190 shipping containers to come in this year. Roughly half have already been unloaded in two shipments on Nov. 13 and Nov. 20, while 52 are expected to arrive this weekend and eight more are coming Dec. 3.

"That may change, but that’s what’s estimated to be coming in," Saneishi said.

About 160 of the 190 containers are expected to come from Matson Navigation Co., and 30 have already come from Horizon Lines.

Last year, 235 containers were shipped, but Saneishi said that number might be skewed because it includes containers brought in by Horizon, which hasn’t released its numbers to the department for the rest of this year.

On average, about 120,000 trees have been imported to Hawaii in the past few years, .

Last year, 140,000 cut trees were brought in, but the numbers are expected to be in the 120,000 range again this year, Saneishi said.

"That’s the best estimate that we can do at this point," she said. "(But) that may change; if the demand is higher, they might end up shipping more."

It’s also difficult for the department to come up with an exact number of expected trees before the season because the containers are different sizes and carry varying numbers and sizes of trees, along with an unknown number of wreaths and other decorations.

"They come in all sorts and sizes," Saneishi said.

Richard Tajiri’s Christmas Hawaii operation in the Ala Moana Center parking lot by Sears has already seen higher-than-usual demand this year via phone calls, so Tajiri decided to open a little early.

"Wednesday we won’t officially open but we will be selling," he said. "We’re setting up, but if people come we’ll sell a tree."

Tajiri said changing weather in the Pacific Northwest caused diseases, so he had somewhat of a tough time finding the perfect trees to sell in Hawaii.

"We had to really pick our trees this year," he said.

Tajiri said that even though Matson raised fuel rates this year, he shipped in slightly more trees than last year and wants to avoid raising prices. "Hopefully, we will stay the same (price-wise)," he said.

Christmas Hawaii will officially open Thursday, selling trees from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., and remain open between 9 a.m. and 10 p.m. every day until the trees sell out.

Saneishi said 100 containers have already been inspected from the first two shipments the department received, and nine were held back because of pest problems the department is still trying to resolve.

OVERALL, though, Saneishi said the trees have been coming in clean and pest-free.

"The tip from the inspectors is that these trees are really nice this year (aesthetically), and they are very clean," she said.

Samples of slugs found in nine containers from the Nov. 20 shipment were sent to the University of Hawaii for scientists to examine, and the trees will be released for sale if the species of slug lives in Hawaii.

Saneishi said the trees are refrigerated until the department decides whether to approve them for sale, clean them, destroy them or ship them back to the mainland.

Danny O’Brien of Kailua has no qualms buying his family’s tree early. "Every year I buy (a tree) before Thanksgiving," he said.

O’Brien said he stopped by the Don Quijote store on Kaheka Street to buy his tree during the weekend, and he was out looking again on Monday for another family member. "The deals of these trees, you can’t beat them."

Christmas, O’Brien said, is all about sharing the aloha spirit. "But the aloha spirit is all year round, not just on Christmas," he said.