Country Comments
has to be trimmed and shaped up so that you grow a tighter, denser tree. And we do that with hand clippers,” Nicholson said. Imagine doing that more than 30,000 times, every year. Outside the holiday season, he only has two employees. When Christmas rolls around, the staff grows to about 25.
“It’s taught me an incredible lesson about patience,” he said. “It’s taken me 20 to 25 years to grow consistently nice trees.”
So while he loves his career, he’s not worried it will be lost to any competition: “I have great job security because I don’t think anyone would be crazy enough to go into this.”
As for choosing the “perfect” tree, it all depends on your point of view.
“Everyone who leaves here thinks they got the perfect tree,” he said. And that’s what makes all his hard work worthwhile.
“I still get chills when I see a family with a tree they put on their car. It’s an incredible feeling, knowing I worked on that tree for eight or nine years. I sheared it eight or nine times. That’s when I get my satisfaction.”
The Spirit of Christmas
While visitors are creating their own memories, the farm has become a source of joy for Nicholson.
The kids he hires during the holiday season often visit just to say hi. “To see them come back when they’re getting married, or having a baby, that’s really when you know it’s a wonderful place,” he said.
It’s a romantic spot as well; the picturesque setting makes it a hot spot for engagements.
In the spirit of the season, Nicholson chooses a charity each year to donate free trees to, keeping an eye out for a local need. A few years ago, when he discovered the nearby city of Newark didn’t have a single Christmas tree lot, he took 200 trees and had a giveaway. “I pulled up to Newark City Hall, and there was a line of people stretching four blocks in 10-degree weather — people who would not have gotten a Christmas tree,” he said.
Nicholson has passed his love of Christmas to his daughter, Emma, who won first place in the annual New Jersey Christmas Tree Growers contest for tabletop trees when she was 8. Now 17, Emma shared her father’s view of what trees can mean to families.
“Christmas has always been my holiday. So many people all have a piece of my family in their house,” she said. It also turns out that having a dad who owns a Christmas tree farm makes you popular with the other students. “I’ve always felt like a celebrity at school; everyone knew me.”
She shared a story that taught her a valuable lesson about charity. A woman had chosen a tree but had forgotten her wallet and checkbook. She promised Emma’s father a check would be in the mail, so he let her take the tree. When several days passed without the arrival of a check, he got discouraged. But it finally showed up a month after the holidays with an apology that the woman had simply forgotten.
“It taught me not to lose hope and not to stop giving people breaks because someone wronged you,” Emma said.
In that case, the spirit of giving lasted long after the holiday season. It’s stories like these that make Nicholson’s job special—and they’re the Christmas gift he receives every year.
How to Make Your Christmas Tree Last Longer When you get home, cut a half-inch off the bottom of the tree before placing it in water. Sap will run and seal off the bottom, making it harder to absorb water.
Check the water level every day, and replenish it as needed. A tree may not drink for a few days after being cut, but it will once it starts to dry.
Decorate with LED lights, which are much cooler on the tree.
If you have an indoor cat that likes to climb trees, consider a spruce. Blue Spruce or Meyer Spruce trees are very prickly, and cats tend to stay away from those.
Recycle your tree by checking for a local program. Nicholson’s farm takes them back, puts them in a chipper, and uses the chips for compost.