MANILUS, N.Y.(NCC News) – It’s the end of the autumn season– haunted houses are now closed across the state, apple orchards are on their last set of apples and the pumpkin boom has ended since there are no more jack-o-lanterns to be made.
This season was difficult for many fall businesses. A late May frost damaged apple trees, leaving a large portion of crops unused and eight consecutive weeks of rain meant that traffic to attractions such as corn mazes and haunted houses was down state-wide.
This should not be the case, however, for the Christmas tree market. The owner of Page’s Christmas Trees, Randy Page, says this season will be as good as any season before, barring extreme weather circumstances.
Christmas trees, Page said, are more resilient than apples or pumpkins to harsh weather such as frosts. Page said he lost about a quarter of the trees he planted this season before they became saplings due to inclement weather. Still, the trees he will sell this year are all ten years or older, and were largely unaffected by cold temperatures and abnormal amounts of precipitation.
Page started his Christmas tree business to pay for his children to attend college. That was 30 years ago. Page said that he enjoys the community that comes with selling Christmas trees. He said he enjoys befriending new families and meeting kids, who he says are always excited.
“Especially with smaller children,” Page said. “They come up for the first time, and we have hawks and owls and there’s some deer– so they get to see those animals. The kids don’t usually see those types of animals, so it’s fun to see their expressions.”
According to the National Christmas Tree Association, although last year customers were forced to pay more for their Christmas trees due to inflation, this year customers should not expect to see another price hike.