The sale of Christmas trees in New York City is not as festive as it seems.
The most impressive trees suitable for Manhattan apartments or Brooklyn brownstones come at a high price and are often surrounded by drama that is not well-known to New Yorkers.
Many Christmas tree sellers in NYC go into debt of over $400,000 to purchase their supplies.
Securing tree growers from states like Oregon, Michigan, North Carolina, and Tennessee is a secretive process that sellers keep close to their chests.
Furthermore, most customers buy their Christmas trees just two weeks before Thanksgiving, resulting in about 60% to 70% of sales happening by the second week of December.
Other challenges include unpredictable factors like bad weather and competition from big-box stores like Home Depot, which can put pressure on sellers to attract customers in a short time frame.
Seasonal sellers hope to make some profit from curbside sales, but it’s not guaranteed, as selling trees for a few hundred dollars each can only go so far.
“We deal with everything. The weather — no one wants to buy a tree in the rain. We deal with the economy when people are going through hard times. We dealt with the transit strike [from Dec. 20-22, 2005],” NYC Tree Shop owner George Smith shared. “We see it all firsthand because we’re on the front line.”
Despite the challenges, the Christmas tree business requires resilience, determination, and street smarts to survive and thrive, as depicted in the Amazon Prime Video documentary, “The Merchants of Joy,” by filmmaker Celia Aniskovich.
The film sheds light on the intense world of holiday tree sales in New York City, where sellers turn gritty sidewalks into enchanting holiday destinations.
In addition to George Smith, the city’s top sellers include George Nash, Jane Waterman, Ciree Nash, Heather Neville, “Little” Greg Walsh, and Kevin Hammer, who have been in the business for years.
They either grow up in the business or gain experience working for others before starting their own ventures, often leaving their homes to sell trees in the weeks leading up to Christmas.
Smith’s introduction to the seasonal tree trade at a young age eventually led him to become one of the dominant sellers in NYC.
And for some, the competition can get ruthless, with stories of mafia involvement in the tree trade in the past.
Despite the challenges, the dedication and passion of NYC’s top tree sellers shine through, making the holiday season a magical time in the city.
When I first saw the Christmas tree business in action, I was amazed. I thought, ‘God, this is just magic in a bottle, and I’ve got to find a way to capture it.’
Before cameras started rolling, Aniskovich admitted that she had no idea how the tree business worked. It involves submitting a free, sealed bid to the NYC Parks Department to win the rights to sell trees at high-traffic public spaces for each of the family’s stands.
As shown in the documentary, the locations are announced in a group call with the sellers, where frustrations run high when desired locations are taken by other families.
Starting in late November, the holiday weeks are a blur of hustle and bustle. Christmas trees seem to appear on street corners overnight, ready to be purchased and decorated.
Since every stand is open 24/7, families need to hire trustworthy workers, either local New Yorkers or out-of-towners, to help sell the trees.
Greg’s Trees, run by “Little” Greg Walsh, prefers to recruit non-local workers, such as fly fishermen or rafting guides, who live on site and become friends during the season.
Despite the challenges of the short selling window and unrealistic customer demands, the families work hard to make the holiday season a success.
Even after the holidays end, the families are already planning for the next year, showing the dedication and hard work that goes into the Christmas tree business.
While they may compete with each other, the stand operators also support one another in times of need, recognizing the shared experience of running a Christmas tree business in the bustling city of New York.
The cat knocked over the vase.
