I visited a Christmas tree farm in New Jersey that has trees of all colors

As I begin writing this article, I am sitting soaking wet in my car right in front of the Wyckoff Christmas Tree Farm. The sky is pouring and the temperature is in the low 40s and I should be freezing, but after just spending 45 minutes talking to owner John C. Wyckoff, I’m actually pretty warm.

Because that’s exactly what this place does to you. It warms your heart.

I’ve heard about Wyckoff Christmas Tree Farm for a while, but this is the first time I’ve been here. I just came here to get some first hand pictures of why they have been in the news for the past few years, namely their colorful Christmas trees. Through a special painting process, you can have a Christmas tree in bright purple, blue, orange, or pretty much any color you can imagine.

More on that in a moment, but all I have to say is that this place is so much more. If Christmas is all about family, that also applies to this farm.

You may only know it as Christmas Tree Farm, as it has been around in this incarnation since 1958. What you may not know is that it has been a working family farm of one kind or another for 183 years, passed down through eight generations. Think about that for a moment. It has been a working farm owned by the same family since a quarter century before the Civil War.

Great

Its owner, John, heard why I was there and immediately decided to show me around the place, give me a tour and talk about the history. You couldn’t find a friendlier gentleman if you tried.

I learned so much, like what an art it is to make such beautiful Christmas wreaths. Of course John plays it down like it’s nothing, but believe me, I wouldn’t last a day in his wreath making shop.

Opposite this workshop is the Christmas Barn, a small shop where you can purchase handmade wreaths and everything from delicious Christmas treats to handmade jewelry to locally produced wines and locally made honey.

Now, those colorful trees? They’ve been selling like crazy for several years now. And as soon as word got out, all kinds of people wanted her. People who just want to try something new. People who have the color scheme of a particular room in mind.

John tells me that he even had a wife who was obsessed with the color purple, dressed purple, carried a purple purse and purple shoes, and just had to have a purple tree.

It’s essentially a spray painting process, but you should do it on a day when the wind is light and the temperature doesn’t drop below 40°C so that the paint can cure overnight without freezing. Like everything else at this Christmas tree farm, there is a science to it.

John says he learned something new about the Christmas tree business every day in all the years he worked there.

The man should be proud. He has won national competitions that took him to the White House in 2013 to deliver the official Christmas tree. He met Michelle Obama. John and his family met Mike Pence in 2019 and one of Wyckoff’s trees decorated then-Vice President Mike Pence’s living room.

If you feel like Warren County is too far away, you won’t feel the same way there anymore. Wyckoff Christmas Tree Farm is located at 246 County Road 519 in Belvidere. For details on opening hours and more information, visit their website.

The farm’s main draw now is people wanting to cut down their own tree, but they also have plenty of freshly cut trees to choose from. That actually accounts for a good 15% of their business. While I was there, I even saw a so-called Nordmann fir, whose seeds originally come from the country of Georgia. They take a few years longer to grow and are said to be thick and full and have thicker branches for heavier ornaments and are absolutely gorgeous.

The 183-year-old farm that grew potatoes and milked cows became this amazing, award-winning tree farm in a failed experiment.

Wrong in a good sense.

John’s ancestors took over a small portion of the farm just to see if it could be done, having no idea it would become a Christmas tree farm that would win the national championship, bringing home the White House and generations of New Jersey families served. Whether it’s a traditional beautiful tree, a colorful tree, ornaments or wine from the Christmas barn, or a festive wreath, you’ll love shopping here.

The opinions expressed in the post above are solely those of Jeff Deminski, host of the New Jersey 101.5 talk show.

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