By 
SANTA Claus may be the busiest man of all in the run-up to Christmas, but spare a thought for the Christmas tree farmer – nurturing, shaping and harvesting festive centrepieces that will light up homes across the country.
For local families, Christmas Trees NI near Victoria Bridge has long been a festive stop, with customers returning year after year to the Russell family yard since the early 2000s. Ken Russell and his wife, June, first established Christmas Trees NI at their farm at Mulvin in 1998.
Since then, they have helped families across the north west bring the magic of Christmas into their homes with real trees, year after year, filling living rooms with the scent of fir – and all the excitement that comes with decorating the centrepiece of the festive season.
Every season, after Ken and June have fulfilled their wholesale commitments, the farmyard is transformed into a festive Christmas tree shop, where the sound of conversation mixes with cold winter air and families carefully choose the tree that will stand proudly in their homes.
Looking back on almost decades of cherished Christmas memories, Ken this week remarked that helping generate some festive spirit is his favourite part of the process.
“Selling trees directly to people is the nicest part of the business,” he said.
“We always see the same faces each year, people who have been coming to buy their tree from us for a long time. And over the years you really get to know them. We have customers coming from all over, but the majority are locals from the Omagh and Strabane areas.
“We all enjoy a catch-up chat about each other’s lives during the intervening year.
“The customers are very appreciative of what we provide – it’s great fun, great craic!”
Ken added that a great deal of manual work goes into producing trees that meet the farm’s standards.
The business sells three main species of trees: Nordmann Fir, Fraser Fir and Noble Fir although they also sell pot-grown Norway Spruce and pot-grown Balsam Fir.
“It takes a long time for each tree to reach full maturity before it’s ready to be sold,” he continued. “For a tree around seven feet tall, it can take up to seven years, while other species can take as long as nine years before they are ready.
“At Christmas Trees NI, our approach to choosing trees for market is predominantly a one-grade system, where the standard is simply ‘pleasing to the eye.’”
As another Christmas approaches, the Russell family’s trees will once again take pride of place in homes and businesses across the region – a familiar and much-loved part of the festive season.
