Oregon Christmas tree farms see increase in business despite pandemic

WILSONVILLE, Ore. (KPTV) – Christmas tree farm owner Rodrick Horner said the Christmas rush has already begun this year, coming much earlier than normal. He said that sales are up about five times from where they were this time last year. He believes this is because people are looking to get into the holiday spirit earlier, especially with most people not traveling for Thanksgiving this year.

Managing those crowds can be a bit of a challenge when you also have to try and stop the spread of COVID-19. So, Horner said they have sanitizing stations, reminders to wear your mask and social distance, and only allow a limited number of people inside the shop at a time.

Horner said other Christmas tree farms in the area are implementing the same measures and also seeing the same boom in business. He said even in 2020, this is an exciting time and owning a Christmas tree farm like this has always been a dream.

“We wanted to do like a ’50s, ’60s old-fashioned Christmas,” Horner explained. “So, if you look at the movie ‘Christmas Story,’ my inspiration came from that scene in there with the Christmas trees sitting there and the guy negotiating the prices. So, the truck and everything around here is supposed to have that old town feel so like when we were all kids.”

In addition to safety measures at the farm, Horner said that customers can order online and see the tree over Facetime for curbside pickup. They also do deliveries for a small fee.

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