Exciting orchestral music
[man VO] Every place has
their own unique Christmas
experience,
but there's no
place like New York.
[woman VO] You're in
a different world.
You're in Tree World.
[man VO] I'm in my
bed and I roll over.
I find pine needles in my bed.
[woman VO] One block in New York
is more people than there are in
Vermont.
[man VO] It's an
exchange of energy.
We have the
Rockefeller Christmas tree.
We have the Rockettes.
Nobody can compete with
Fifth Avenue's store windows.
There's music everywhere.
I love the vibrancy of the city.
I like the noise.
I like the chaos.
I love when it's Christmas
in New York in a movie.
Ahh!
[man] Go back to Jersey,
ya moron! [laughs]
Christmas doesn't start really
in the city until the Christmas
tree people get here.
[woman VO] New York is probably
the hardest place to sell
Christmas trees.
And people don't realize a lot
of the stands going up are owned
by this small group.
[Greg VO] My name
is Gregory Walsh.
[Heather VO] Heather Neville.
[George S VO] George Smith.
[Ciree VO] I'm Ciree Nash.
I'm Jane Waterman.
[George N VO] And
I'm George Nash.
[George S VO] And we're the
five families of Christmas.
Upbeat Christmas music
[Greg VO] It's a
very scary business.
It's over a half a
million dollars to break even.
And you're squishing a
year of work into a month.
[Ciree VO] The stakes are...
pretty f*cking high!
That don't concern me at all.
When I play, I play to win.
I mean, we're all frenemies.
[chuckles]
I think we should
all work together.
I don't know.
Now that's a tree!
[George S VO] Everybody
in the tree business,
to a certain degree,
they're all for themselves.
It's the tree
season relationship.
It's pretty difficult for
anybody to compete with me.
I think that we have the
best selection of trees.
I'm second to nobody.
[laughs]
[George S VO] From your
mouth to God's ears,
I'm praying it'll
be a good year.
I hope that I make it out
with my shirt this year.
h*, h*, h*!
Merry Christmas!
Heartwarming
Christmas music
-[groans]
-How's my hair look?
Where's makeup?
[Jane] Okay.
[chuckles]
[Heather] Why don't I just move
the chair over a little bit?
[crew] No, no, no!
Oh, no?
Forget it, all right, all right!
Everyone calm down!
[chuckles]
Usually I eat milk and cookies,
but I'll have a
little water today.
tender acoustic music
[Greg VO] Every
Christmas tree sold in America
is grown on a farm.
They've been
grown from seedlings.
Those little tiny
guys gotta grow up,
and then they get transferred
to another little pot,
then another little pot.
By time they
actually get in the ground,
they're about that tall
and they're about
three years old already.
Every year after
that, it's about a foot.
And they trim 'em once a year.
They put sticks in them to
make 'em grow straighter.
They gotta cut 'em,
they gotta bale 'em.
And they gotta ship 'em to me.
My name is Gregory Walsh
and I operate Greg's Trees,
and we've been
doing it for 38 years.
If you do this as a lifestyle,
and you're doing trees,
then most likely, you
should also do something else.
You know, 'cause you're not
gonna make it just on trees.
Tender upbeat music
We've got lilies!
Look at those lilies!
Wouldn't you love to get
those lilies on Valentine's Day?
Welcome to Greg's Roses!
It's also Greg's Trees, but
right now, it's Greg's Roses.
h*... no, no.
Come on in!
Come on in, my loves!
Little Greg wants to be on T...
Wait, where'd he go?
He was there for a minute ago.
Did he just... disappear?
That's Little Greg.
[Greg VO] I was always a
very motivated young man to
make money.
I was working in a candy store
when I was seven years old.
Then I wanted to work in the
pizzeria and I was only 12.
And started this business
when I was 21 years old,
selling trees.
Upbeat bluesy music
I also have six pumpkin stands.
Woo!
Has anybody ever seen a
more beautiful pumpkin stand?
And then we do Mother's Day.
To have a bouquet this
late on Mother's Day,
this beautiful...
Greg, did you call your mother?
-No...
-Greg, call her right now.
Can we call her on film?
Call your mother right now.
Father and son.
h*, h*, h*!
I never got him to smile
like that once in my life!
Sometimes I paid him
50 dollars to smile,
like in front of
the Eiffel Tower.
I'm like, "It's
Eiffel Tower, Greg!
I'll give you 50 dollars!
Gimme a smile!"
[Little Greg] You just don't
like accept my other smiles.
[Greg VO] I have one
son, his name is Greg also.
He's called Little Greg, even
though he is six foot five.
I'm Big Greg, and I'm shrinking,
but he wants to call me,
uh...
Old Greg, but I'm not...
I'm not gonna do that.
[Little Greg] Ah, why?!
Uh, I'm 20.
I've been involved
probably 20 years.
[chuckles]
I've been at the
stand since I was a kid,
either just going with my
dad or just helping out on the
weekends.
I don't really know who gets
into the tree business without
[chuckling] family
or anything else.
[Greg VO] He's always been
mimicking me as the little boss
...that was his
name for many years.
And he's eventually gonna
take over the business.
[director] Do you think
Little Greg is ready to
run the business?
Um, I mean, I wasn't
ready until I was about 45,
so, uh, I gotta say...
I think he's... I don't think he
knows what's about to happen.
[Greg] Ooh!
Look, Christmas trees.
[Greg VO] Growing
up in New York,
we were the
hustlers back in the day.
Now, we're
seasoned peddlers, right?
50, 50, 50, 50, 50, 50...
-25!
-[man] 25, 25...
I was either 10 or 12 years
old when I met some tree guys.
[Greg VO] This kid
walks by every day,
like school hours.
So I finally, one day, I
said, "What are you doing?"
And he told me that he
was... he's a hustler too.
-[phone chirping]
-One second, hold on.
I'm just selling
some jewelry right now.
A businessman always works.
[Greg] I found
you on the street!
-I found you on the street!
-And who helped you?
I picked you up... physically
picked you up... and put you in
-business.
-[George S] No, that's not true!
He worked for me the
first couple of years.
We almost k*lled each other.
888 wins again!
I told Greg, "You know
I'm better than you."
I said, "Take my name
'George, ' for instance.
I have every one of your
letters in my name and more!
Why would they settle for less
when they can have the best?"
He don't have the
money you think he has.
How do you know?
I know people who know
people with old issues!
[George S VO] I own
several different businesses.
[George S] At
George's Pumpkin World...
we're better than Greg.
[George S VO] But I
also do Valentine's Day,
Mother's Day,
Easter, and carnivals.
Christmas is my
favorite of all holidays.
I won the number-one Christmas
tree locations in Manhattan.
It's NYC Tree Shops.
Everybody watches.
I don't know why.
Whatever I do, they watch.
My competitors all watch me.
'Cause I look for the trend to
see what's new and what's hot
and how to do it.
[George S VO] I was born
and raised in Brooklyn.
I grew up poor on welfare.
Nobody gave you
anything in life.
If you wanted something in life,
you had to go out and get it.
And you had to work hard for
it, whatever you wanted in life.
[George S] All right,
are you working, Mike?
We've got customers.
Call 'em in. Let's go.
Where's Mimi?
Go to work, let's go.
[George S VO] I was married.
I was divorced.
Then, I was with somebody else.
We were together
for like, you know,
three or four years already,
and I was gonna marry her.
[George S] Now you're
lying to me again?
Then I caught her
cheating on me.
What are you gonna do?
I have four amazing kids.
5, 8, 13, and 18.
You know, I'm a single dad.
[chuckling] Wow!
[George S VO] So it's hard to
get the time away right now.
Maybe put on the
bottom of it: "single.
You can date this tree guy."
[turkeys gobbling]
[Jane VO] Hey, kids!
I know what you want.
I know what you want.
They only like me for my money.
[chuckles]
[Jane VO] I'm Jane Waterman.
[George N VO] And I'm George.
-[chuckles]
-George Nash.
[Jane VO] We are
Uptown Christmas Trees!
We've been selling
trees for 49 years.
Upbeat classic rock
[George N VO] Our official
company motto is...
[Jane VO] Let me say it, 'cause
I'm the one who made it up.
You are the one who made it up.
"Sell the f*cking tree!"
Come here, kids!
[turkeys gobbling]
These guys walk around
like that all day long.
[Jane VO] Every one of our nine
grandchildren have worked for
us, and all of our children have
worked for us at one time or
another.
[George N] Swing it out, Ciree.
[Ciree] No, no.
I just need...
It's... it's just waving.
There.
[Ciree VO] I'm Ciree Nash,
and I run Uptown Christmas
Trees with my parents.
We are basically the first
people that were above
Central Park in Harlem.
[Jane] Oh, he's not
that clean, it turns out.
-[Jane and Ciree laugh]
-I'm perfectly clean.
[Ciree, laughing]
Perfectly clean.
If you look, it's like a yellow
stain all down your shirt.
[Ciree VO] Trees has just been
such a huge part of my life.
It's shaped our
whole entire family.
And this year, I'm
taking over the business.
[Jane] This is for
the baby ducks who...
were living here all the time.
Now, I don't know.
They took off somewhere, but
that's what happens when they
grow up.
Everybody grows up and
moves away eventually.
Even our
Christmas tree people do!
[Jane VO] We're in
our 70s now and,
you know, we're not gonna
be able to do this forever.
[Jane] There's some over
there for you, Virginia!
[Jane VO] Ciree's the one
that had the skillset to do it.
And a ambition.
[Jane VO] We had a five-year
program for her so that she
would take on a little bit at a
time until she was able to run
the whole thing and
we could back off.
[Ciree VO] It came
about at a, like,
really...
-[laughs]
-[Jane] I don't even remember.
I... this was
after I got sober.
[Ciree VO] If you
Google my name,
two things come up:
that I'm the owner of a
multimillion-dollar business,
and then I have a...
was arrested for heroin.
[Jane] Well, you
were also prescribed...
I was one of those,
you know, prescribed...
I had to have a
hysterectomy and... and that was,
you know, a lot of problems, and
I was one of those fall victims
being overprescribed.
I was an addict for like 10
years and nobody knew about it.
-[Jane] She had twins...
-[Ciree] Mm.
And a toddler...
-[chuckles]
-At the same time, so...
-Yeah.
-That was a bad combination.
It was a bad combination.
Also, I also didn't
know how to be like,
"I need help.
I do not have all
my sh*t together."
[Jane] People who have
gotten sober from that,
they're strong people.
Right after I had gotten sober,
I was deciding what I was gonna
do with my life.
My parents were like,
"Why don't you just
take over the business?"
Entrusting that with
me was a huge thing,
them being like, "We trust you."
We trust you to
hand this to you,
this legacy.
"This thing we have
spent 40 years building."
There's things about my
parents that drive me insane.
[Ciree] Just leave it, leave
it, just leave, leave it...
But I also have no idea what
I'm gonna do without them.
Like none.
Like, I can't even... I can't
even talk about it now because I
don't know what I'm gonna do.
So I just...
savor those moments
and not get annoyed,
and just...
I love them, so...
[chuckles]
[Jane] Hello, turkeys.
[turkeys gobbling]
Upbeat Christmas music
[Heather VO] My name
is Heather Neville.
I own and operate NYC Tree
Lady in New York City selling
Christmas trees.
There's not a lot of
women that do this,
you know?
Like there's not, like...
So I think that was... like, I
wanted to really flaunt that.
So what do you wanna do?
Uh, yeah, wait, hold on.
Um, what size tree?
You're looking for the
seven-to eight-footers, right?
[Heather VO] First
job was a dog groomer,
and then I worked for, like,
a sex therapist for a while.
When I started
selling Christmas trees,
I worked for
somebody else 20 years ago.
Pretty sexist and,
uh, paid me like sh*t.
So then I started
working for George Smith.
He paid me really, really
well and I worked for him for a
couple of years.
And then, when I
married my husband,
he was like,
"What are you doing?"
I had, like, all these different
ideas and... and things that I
wanted to do and, uh, I couldn't
do it for somebody else,
so I just did it
myself, and here I am.
When I'm not selling trees, I
have a hot sauce and exotic meat
store.
So this is Goodies Gone Wild.
[laughs]
This is... we'll start here.
These are, like, all the...
exotic meats like
kangaroo, alligator here.
This is our pig head.
Camel, python, rabbits.
Anything that I could
possibly get my hands on,
I'll sell.
Kiss the pig,
Jonah, kiss the pig!
[Heather VO] I don't eat it.
Um, but other people do.
My dream is to
sell beaver hot dogs.
[laughs]
So, I wanted my logo
to be a spicy beaver.
It's a reflection of who I am.
I am a spicy beaver.
[laughs]
Look it up, kids!
All right?
[laughs]
[George S VO] All you did
was Heather, Greg, Nash,
and me right now, right?
[director] Yeah, just you guys.
Nobody else.
That's it?
That's everybody on the list?
-That's it?
-[director] Yeah.
There's only five families here?
[director] Yeah.
Why, you couldn't
get Kevin Hammer?
Ominous Christmas music
[George N VO] Winter of '74,
I had a small construction
company.
I had a little
one-ton flatbed truck.
Somebody had hired me to truck a
load of Christmas trees down to
Springfield, Mass for them.
I was headed down Interstate 89.
Right there near Bethel
somewhere I see lights flashing
behind me.
And these guys pull up
in this decrepit van,
they have heavy
Brooklyn accents.
They start interrogating me
almost about where did I get
those trees?
"We wanna buy Christmas trees."
They wanted to buy
Christmas trees.
"You sell us those trees."
They had driven up to
Vermont because they figured,
you know, they could
find Christmas trees there.
I said, "Well, you could call...
we could call the grower."
So we drove to the rest stop,
jammed me into a phone booth and
started feeding me quarters, and
I called the grower I got the
trees from.
He said, "Sure, I have, uh,
maybe a few hundred trees left,"
he says.
And so he says, "We'll buy 'em!"
And they said to me,
"Would you truck them for me?"
"Sure, why not?"
And that fellow was
named Kevin Hammer.
He was 19 years old, saved
by the Church of Scientology.
I never knew that
until years later.
Kevin, to his credit, had
this brilliant insight,
which, up to that point, it
seems nobody had ever had,
which was that you could sell
really nice Christmas trees on
the sidewalk in New York for the
same prices the florists and the
little delis were all selling
crappy Christmas trees for.
Then the next year, he had grown
already to the point where I
couldn't supply him
anymore trees myself.
He's the largest
seller in the city.
He has a hundred lots.
He's smarter than most of us.
[Greg VO] Very first year, we
met our buddy, Kevin Hammer.
We put up a sign in Manhattan:
"Coming December 3rd!"
So he set up a
stand there, of course.
And we were like,
"Didn't you see the sign?"
He said, "Of
course I saw the sign.
That's why I set
up a stand here.
I don't want you here."
[George N VO] He began getting
the notion that every tree that
moved in the city, he ought
to have some say or control
over it.
There's this whole legend in the
industry that he's some kind of
terrifying Keyser
Soze kind of guy.
Is he interviewing with you?
No.
f*ck no.
Did you call him?
Call him.
I'll give you his number.
I'll call him.
He hates me.
He f*cking hates me.
I don't know why.
I mean, I kind of
do, but whatever.
f*ck that guy.
I created Kevin Hammer.
I'm responsible for him.
I... I sometimes
lose sleep over it,
with guilt over that.
[ringing]
[automated voice] Your call has
been forwarded to an automated
voice message system.
At the tone, please
record your message.
When you have
finished recording,
you may hang up or press one...
[George N VO] And then
the next three years,
we had a vicious turf w*r.
-Ominous music
-[people shouting]
[Ciree VO] There's a long
history of retailers being
pitted against each other.
[Greg VO] It was a
tougher New York 30 years ago.
We used to pay off people.
We used to pay off the mafia.
I never paid off no mafia,
so I don't know about that.
We were really big then
in the wholesale business,
and we were doing very well,
but I didn't realize that I was
stepping on the toes of the
legitimate mafia wholesalers.
We got a message loud and clear.
We got shaken down.
We got extorted.
We got robbed.
There was a competitor m*rder*d.
[Greg VO] It's so
different today.
But it's still not a place to
step on someone's toes if you
don't know what you're doing.
[Greg] Finding tree locations
in New York City is probably the
toughest part, because the only
real source is New York City
Parks Department.
So the city, they
wait until, uh,
August to have this auction.
And at that auction, we
put in a closed-seal bid,
we go to this room,
they open the bids,
and that's how you
get your location.
I'm pretty sure I know
what's gonna happen,
but...
[chuckling] it's
gonna be interesting.
[woman on phone] Good morning,
we're gonna be getting started
up in the next few minutes.
-Um...
-Can they see me, Greg?
[woman] Just make sure during
the opening you stay on mute,
and if you have any questions,
save them until the end.
I'm the BQE,
so I'm Long Island City,
Brooklyn...
The Nashes have the Harlem area.
[Ciree VO] George Smith
is, like, more downtown.
[George S VO] It's like
the old Jewish saying:
the three things you
need in business...
location, location, location.
This year, I think
I'll have seven stands.
[Ciree VO] Heather is
the southern belle,
and I'm the Queen of the North.
[Greg VO] And then, of course,
Kevin Hammer's all over the
place.
We're bidding on four stands.
Just the four we always have.
Hopefully the other
guys will do the same.
[Ciree VO] You're
bidding against each other,
but there's just an unwritten
rule that that's my spot.
You don't bid on that.
Marks...
Heather...
George is here.
Evergreen.
Who's Evergreen?
[woman] Okay, we're
about to get started.
We're gonna start with
ABC Playground at Essex and
Norfolk Street.
Greg's Holiday Center, 7,000.
Moving on to Manhattan,
St. Catherine's Park,
First Avenue, is
Heather Neville,
11,187.
Same location.
This is from George Smith.
24,000.
as*h*le stole my spot.
[George S laughs]
[Heather on phone] George bid,
like, some ridiculous amount on it.
I know.
That spot's not that good.
Keep your friends close,
but your enemies closer.
[woman] New location.
This is from George
Smith, Lifetime Garden Center.
Same location.
This is an electronic
bid from Evergreen East.
-Oh, Hammer!
-Hammer's jumping in.
[woman] New location.
Samuel Seabury Playground.
Heather Neville, 10,287.
[Heather VO] I won
96th and Lexington.
Now, Heather's at 96th Street.
She's in direct
competition with me.
[Jane VO] And originally she
said she wasn't gonna bid on it
so that we could bid on it.
And then out of
the clear blue sky,
she decided to bid on it.
Why would you?
You're not in that neighborhood.
I might've upset
people, but, you know,
it is what it is.
Like, I didn't do
anything wrong.
[woman] New location.
E111TR, in Washington Park,
JJ Byrne Playground.
This is also from Gregory
Walsh, Greg's Holiday Center,
5,000.
This is the same location.
This is from
Evergreen East, Kevin Hammer,
6,000.
[sighs]
[woman] This is
an electronic bid?
And that was an electronic bid.
[sighs] Well, we just lost
a very valuable spot, Greg.
Damn it.
[sighs]
Kevin Hammer...
[whispering] I'll
f*cking k*ll him.
[woman] We're still in Brooklyn?
Ah, I'm so stupid!
[woman] And that concludes
the bid opening for today.
Does anybody have any questions?
[Little Greg] Yeah, why are
you running this, you moron?
[woman] Does anyone have any
questions or need me to repeat
anything?
[Little Greg] Have her repeat
it all, just to screw with her.
[Greg VO] Our mission statement
of Greg's Trees was to change
Christmas trees from just
being trees on an A-frame in the
middle of Manhattan.
We wanted to change it
to Winter Wonderland...
this place where you go
and be like, "Wow!"
Cutouts, Santa, music.
And JJ is just...
the ultimate spot.
Now it's just gonna be
a Kevin Hammer spot.
I founded that spot.
I put the paperwork in for
that spot seven years ago.
I had it last year.
And now Kevin
Hammer's gonna have my spot?
And they made us sign
papers saying like that we were
agreeing to this.
Like we... we
don't agree to this.
It was like, "You know, well,
it's that or you can't do it."
Like, you know what I mean?
Park Department suggested I
try to make a deal with him,
like trade him
another spot that I have,
which I would do if I have to.
[ringing]
[Kevin VO] Hello?
[woman VO] Hi, is this Kevin?
[Kevin VO] Yeah.
[woman VO] I'm working on a
documentary about the Christmas
season.
[Kevin VO] Okay.
[woman VO] I just wanted to
check in to see if you might be
interested in being
part of the documentary.
[Kevin VO] Nah.
I just, you know...
Look,
there's no possible
upside to any of this.
[Ciree] I'm
optimistic about this year,
only because...
I think I know
better what to expect.
I don't feel like I'm going
into it blindly like last year,
not knowing how bad
last year was gonna be.
Our retail was down
by like... [sighs]
20 percent!
Like we sold...
Out of 20,000 trees,
I threw away 3,000.
That's a lot.
I usually sell... throw
out under a hundred.
[Ciree VO] That's the thing
about this business is the
learning curve is super steep.
I have five weeks, you know?
It's not like I have all
this time that I can sell these
trees.
I got too many trees,
I gotta throw them out.
[Greg coughs]
[Greg] How tall's it now?
I don't know, I
can't see the number.
[Greg] I mean, we can cut two,
three feet off that bottom if
-you want to.
-[man] Yeah.
[Greg] And we'll trim off
some of those branches.
-[man] 16 foot to the tip.
-Yeah.
We're being easy, right?
-[man] Yeah.
-[laughs]
[man] That's the fastest
we've ever picked 'em out.
I know, we're usually
all day here doing this.
[director VO] How
do you find trees?
Where do you go?
Where do I go?
[director] Yeah.
I would rather that we
not talk about that.
Um...
I'm not gonna tell you that.
Nobody says where we
buy our trees from,
because then they all try
to buy from where we buy.
It's important to keep the
secrets 'cause I like to make my
money and I don't want
someone else affecting that.
That would
dramatically change my life.
We're out here
working in August,
sweating on these hills,
and getting the finest trees.
[Heather VO] Like I don't want
it to be like a "How to sell"
"Christmas trees in New
York City" documentary,
you know?
'Cause it's like that's...
I'll just set their trees on
fire and nobody wants that.
I don't wanna be in jail.
[laughing] You know?
Our next interview
will be behind bars.
[laughs]
I buy all my trees from
five states, basically.
There's Oregon,
Washington State,
Michigan, North
Carolina, Tennessee.
[director] How much do the
trees cost you from the farms?
None of your business.
[laughing] Sorry.
A lot of money.
[laughs]
Honestly, I take a loan out...
of my other business.
[laughs]
If I died tomorrow, my
kids would be screwed.
[laughs]
[Greg VO] I'd do a lot of
work to find these growers.
We buy $400,000 or something
worth of Christmas trees.
There's a lot of money spent
flying there and driving around
and meeting these guys and
checking out their trees and you
try their trees.
You never let anybody
know the farms you going to.
This is very rare.
[Little Greg] You're just
screaming this on national
television.
Moron.
[Greg] Greg's calling me a moron
for putting this on national
television.
Christmas
hip-hop instrumental
[George N VO] This time of year,
we have to go check out all our
locations just to make
sure they're still there.
[George N] Yeah, we missed you!
Mwah!
[George N] Sometimes, you
see a landlord and they say,
"Oh, the rent's gonna
be higher this year."
[George N] Here,
have some cookies!
[George N VO] So it's basically
just making sure there are no
unpleasant surprises when
we show up in December.
[Ciree] Also, just to be like,
"Hey, we are coming back."
They're giving us a
ticket right now!
[George N] What?
[Ciree] Are you giving
me a ticket right now?
-Yes, I am.
-[George N] For what?
You didn't pay for the meter.
[George N] Yeah, we did.
It's right there!
-Look, it's right here!
-Well, it's facing down.
There you go.
[George N] Look.
[Ciree] Jesus Christ.
[George N] You're
still giving us a ticket?
Thanks, buddy!
Thanks, that's
really generous of you.
f*cking as*h*le.
Merry Christmas
and happy New Year
My son drove my car
the other day and, like,
he pushed the
emergency SOS button,
so now, like, every
time I start it...
He just wanted to
see what it did.
I'm like, "It's fricking...
it calls the police!"
So now, every
time I start my car,
it, like, goes off.
I think it's gonna
be a good season.
I mean, like, last year, I
gauged how the season was gonna
be based on the boardwalk store.
So, like, I kind of, like...
can gauge how the
economy's doing through that.
So I'm hoping, um...
I'm hoping we
have a good season.
You know?
[Heather VO] It's not
like you can sell them...
you know, next season, you know?
It's like, this is it.
So it's like you gotta...
you buy cautiously, and
you pray that they sell.
Like, it's really hard to
say, 'cause I'm not in the city,
I don't know the
spirit of the people here.
I think that after COVID, a lot
of families moved out because
they could work remotely, also
because the rents got really
high.
It's changed so
much over the years.
You know, and I don't
think for the better.
But... but it's a great city.
New York is a great city.
So, I guess time will tell.
Exciting Christmas music
-Tree Season!
-Tree Season!
-Tree Season!
-Starts...
Now!
Tree season's been
started already.
I'm not a slacker!
[Ciree VO] Set-up is a
very well-organized,
controlled chaos.
[George N VO] We need to
transport all our equipment.
They all get
loaded up in Vermont.
[woman] All right, you guys.
So just a
reminder: Busy...
gas.
F-150?
-[George N] Diesel.
-Great.
-U-Haul?
-[man] Gas.
[woman] Yes.
Maggie's gonna lead the pack.
I'll take up the rear.
Everybody else,
jockey for the middle.
Any questions?
-[man] No ma'am.
-[woman] Woo!
-[Effie] All right!
-[man] Good luck, everybody.
[Effie] Here we go!
The Saturday before Thanksgiving
is the day we actually start
building.
It's crunch time.
Exciting orchestral music
We never say how much is
sold, how many we bought.
We never get
numbers... into the numbers.
The only person who knows
those numbers is the IRS.
[Greg VO] My truckers will
be running 24 hours a day,
seven days a week
for next 10 days,
back and forth to
North Carolina,
back and forth to
Oregon, nonstop.
[truck horn]
[Heather VO] You keep your
fingers crossed that the trees
come in nice, they
come in on time.
Someone guide him, please!
Can you guide him?
[Heather VO] It's
such a crazy thing.
You're setting up.
Every moment
really, really counts.
Do you have a driver's license?
[Greg] There it is.
This is home and office
for the next, uh...
month.
This A-frame is going up here.
[man] Yes.
[Greg VO] By the 20th, every
stand will be in development.
[kid] What're you doing?
[woman] We're getting ready
to sell Christmas trees.
[kid] Oh yeah, that's
what those things are!
Electricity's not working.
[sighs]
[chuckles]
[Greg VO] By the 23rd, every
stand will be just about the way
we want it to be.
And by the 26th,
they're all gonna be perfect.
[George S VO]
Getting the trucks ready,
loading everything,
get it delivered,
setting up, build the location,
dealing with the truckers,
dealing with the suppliers.
I am on site each and every day.
I'm a working boss.
If you're single and
you wanna mingle...
You know, I'm
single and mingle...
You know, you gotta
give people a shot,
you gotta try 'em
out and talk to them.
Speed dating is weird.
It's a different chapter for me.
Girls are way too picky.
I think you need one or
two dates to figure it out
and to pick if you
relate to that person.
I just pick everybody.
I wanna be nice.
Hey!
[George S VO] Heather met her
husband during Christmas season
working for me.
You know, experiences happen in
the tree business like no other.
You never know what's
gonna happen the next day.
[Ciree] Yay!
-[George N] Yay!
-[Ciree] Yay!
Hi!
I miss you!
Ah, you guys had a good time?
[chuckles]
Ah, everybody's here finally.
What a relief.
[Ciree VO] I'm a great mom.
It's like my best achievement
in the world is my kids.
[Ciree] How are you?
I missed you.
These are the twins, my twins.
[laughs]
[Ciree VO] I'll tell you, my
kids, they've had such an
education that they would
never get in school.
Nice!
I got the same knife as you.
She did, she got the
same... where's your...
[Ciree VO] Kids in Vermont,
getting to come down to this
fabulous, cosmopolitan city of
New York and live here for a
month and a half every year.
You interact with people
differently when you see all
kinds of different people.
[director VO] Do you remember
the first tree you ever sold?
Yeah, I was 10 years old.
It was on 110th Street.
Somebody asked me the question,
"How much is the tree?"
And I sold it for, like, a
ridiculously high price.
And my dad was so proud.
[laughs]
He was so proud.
Okay, only one more
truck to get! [laughs]
[Ciree VO] It's not a material
thing that my parents built.
[George N] One more
truck to deal with.
It's not really a company,
it's kind of just... it's our...
it's our life.
[Greg through megaphone]
Stay off that naughty list!
Hah!
All day long.
[chatter]
[Greg VO] Greg was
going to Penn State,
doing very good.
He had a 3.67 GPA
for three semesters.
And then he dropped out without
asking his mother and me,
'cause we would've said no.
And he got bored and he
wanted to come home and help me.
So this year he's
fully vested, fully in,
24 hours a day.
And I didn't request it, I
didn't ask him to do it,
but I kinda...
I... I need him, so...
tender acoustic music
[man] Greg, are wreaths
going over the fence?
Over the fence.
[Greg] The trees.
[Little Greg] They're
talking about wreaths!
-Trees!
-[Little Greg] Wreaths!
I'll bet!
You wanna bet they're
talking about trees?!
[Little Greg] He
just said "wreaths."
They're putting trees
over there, asking you!
Why are you arguing with me?
[Little Greg] 'Cause you're...
[Greg] Are the trees
going over the fence?
Yes, I told... The
five-six are staying here!
[Greg] Over the fence?
The wreaths
they're talking about!
[Greg] They don't
go over the fence.
[Little Greg] Who
are you yelling at?
I'm yelling at you!
The five-six are
staying here, all right?
[Little Greg VO] I wasn't really
sure what I wanted to do with my
life, so I just
wanted a year break and...
now that's kind
of evolved into...
more of a permanent break.
Five-six,
five-six, and four-five.
Also, I wanted to spend
some more time with my dad.
[Greg] Time to start the season!
You gotta take a
look at a couple,
see how they look.
-Perfect.
-[Little Greg] Four-five.
Beautiful!
[Greg VO] He's
never ran a stand.
His role always is
to hang out with me.
Four-five...
[Greg VO] My only anxiety this
year is getting Greg ready to do
this on his own.
Who's calling this?
Greg, you're calling
this over the wall, right?
[Greg VO] I really wanna
teach him how to do this and,
you know, 20-year-olds, uh...
they don't listen.
But I'm probably transferring
the business into his name
this year.
[George S] My crew is
the best in the business.
Look at my guys!
They're like little elves.
I gotcha.
[George S] How are we
doing up here, guys?
Tender acoustic music
[Heather] Just double park!
My truckers
usually don't unload.
It's like a special treat, baby!
Yeah, I got no problem working.
[Heather VO] Like
everything in life,
there's no guarantees.
Everything is a
shot in the dark,
a roll of the dice.
Christmas trees is no exception.
[Heather] I mean,
look, this is empty!
Why is this empty, guys?
And we have all this space!
See all this happy
little space here?
Wait, hold on, I don't
even want you doing this
because of your finger.
You're gonna pop
that finger right open.
Get down, move, move, move.
Where's the shed key?
Who has the shed key?
Oh, I got it.
I left some shed
keys in the other one,
so you probably have two.
[Heather] Rise and shine, baby!
Wake up, wake up!
Wakey, wakey!
Come on, baby!
-[man] Go!
-[Heather] Get up!
Out!
Come on, you gotta get out, bud!
This ain't a free ride.
This is my shed.
You gotta get out, bud.
You gotta wake up, baby doll.
Come on.
Get yourself situated.
You all right?
You're good?
All right, you gotta
get outta here, bud.
Move.
Let him get situated.
It's good.
[chuckles]
What's your name?
-[Kevin] It's Kevin.
-[Heather] Kevin?
-Are you sober?
-[Kevin] Yeah.
[Heather] Or are you a user?
-Do you drink?
-[Kevin] Yes.
[Heather] You gotta
stop drinking, Kev.
You know that, right?
You deserve to live inside of
a home that keeps you warm,
not to sneak into a shed.
-Do you understand that, Kev?
-[Kevin] Yes.
[Heather] You gotta
stop drinking, dude.
I got nine years, the
best nine years of my life.
[Heather VO] A lot of people,
when they go down these darker
roads of life, like, they have a
hard time pulling themselves out
and they feel hopeless.
[Heather] Kevin, there's
meetings everywhere, dude.
All you gotta do is
walk in the door, Kevin.
That's all you have to do.
All you have to do is walk in.
Okay?
[Kevin] Thank you so much.
-[Heather] I love you, Kev.
-[Kevin] Take care.
[Heather] All right.
God bless, Kev.
[Heather VO] Why do you
think people feel worthless?
'Cause somebody said something
to them that made them feel
worthless.
Maybe your one compliment can
change the way that they look at
themselves.
You don't know what
kind of impact you have,
how powerful you can be, and I
think people don't realize how
powerful we are to each other.
[Georgie VO] I was a wild drunk
10 years ago, and I was in
between restaurant jobs and,
um...
I stumbled into Heather's stand
on like 24th Street or some
f*cking thing like that.
I said, "You got a job?"
She said, "Yeah, be
here nine o'clock."
I said, "All right,
let's go, m*therf*cker."
It's a dirty job, but
someone's got to f*cking do it!
I start walking around cleaning.
I crank up the music.
Bam!
You know, I'm
rocking, I'm cleaning.
I pick all this up, you see?
Cleanliness is next to
holiness and godliness, right?
If we start early
enough in November,
you got almost a week for people
to get their feet underneath
them before the
first big weekend,
and they have to really
be together by that point.
Well, why don't you put the
ladder in this empty spot
right here?
[George N VO] And the other
thing is is we've got to bring
the right team.
If you wanna know how to hire
the right person for the job,
there's two questions.
The first question is:
what are you doing right now?
You should be able to say what
you're doing right now in one or
two sentences.
If you can answer that
question, you get question two:
do you go outside ever?
What kind of
physical things do you do?
Can you stand on a street corner
for 12 hours a day for 35 days
without a break?
[Colby] I've been at
this corner for six years,
but I've been coming
down for 15 years now.
My parents sold Christmas
trees before I was born.
My brother sold Christmas trees,
so it's just kind of been in my
family for years now.
[Greg S VO] The
people that work for me,
they show up,
they're full of energy,
they're mountain climbers,
they're ski
instructors and stuff.
So you're around that.
This is my little home.
[laughs]
The shower
situation is that, um...
one, I'm the kind of person
that doesn't need a shower
that often.
So I went two weeks.
[laughs]
I met someone, she
walks her senior dog,
and she was like "I live
around the corner.
Like, here's my number.
Just...
next time you need a
shower, just call me."
You have to love it.
We call it "tree fever."
So I just want to give
you... do a little twirl,
like the modeling
thing for runway.
[chuckles]
I used to do EMS my
whole life and then...
Christmas trees, and ever since,
I will... I'll do this as long as
I can.
I truly just love it.
Underneath the table
is where I sleep.
This old guy found this heater
on the street and brought it to
us, so we got the
microwave and the heater just,
you know...
It's easy to find free stuff.
Oh, yeah, and that's
Charlie's night table.
He can tell you
about his bedroom...
[Charlie laughs]
He used to have to
share a bedroom with Kyle.
Yeah, Kyle used to be here.
We miss him so much.
"Dance of the
Sugar Plum Fairy"
It's just basic stuff, you know?
[Ciree VO] I gonna look
at these ones down here.
[Jane] You'll find
somebody will buy it.
There's a person for every tree.
[Ciree] It hasn't
been that long.
We haven't been
selling for even a week.
But so far,
everybody seems to be...
[Jane] They're
selling the trees.
[Ciree] They're selling trees.
We're right on target
where we were last year.
And these are the
seven to nines,
-which are...
-They got size to 'em.
They got size, which means... but
it seems like they're gonna have
to cut, like...
cut the bottoms down.
Ugh, I'm super disappointed.
But also, I was,
like, super pumped.
I thought these
were gonna, like...
we were getting, like, really
beautiful trees and I was like,
"Oh, we got good quality."
And now I'm kind of bummed.
They're supposed to
be premium trees.
These are really nice for a
number one or a number two.
[Ciree] Those are not.
We put out a thing for
all of our managers,
like "What do you guys think?
What do they look like?"
The consensus is that
they look more like balsam,
which is fine.
But what we are really... I'm
just trying to get out to people
is there's no
frasers in the city
because of the high demand and
then all the box stores buy them
up before little
guys can get them,
and...
people are just gonna have to
realize that you're not gonna be
able to buy a Fraser
for a couple years.
Home Depot and Lowe's really has
changed the way people buy trees
and just like... it...
it's really affected us.
When people think about what
a tree is supposed to cost,
they're going by what's
advertised in these big box
stores.
[Greg VO] It's pretty difficult
for anybody to compete with big
box store-type business.
I mean, it's very
scary to make money now.
They don't give a
sh*t about your tree.
They're just loss leaders.
They're not making money
off the Christmas trees.
They do it because they can,
and because they want you to buy
their plastic ba*ls.
That's really what
it boils down to,
and it's bullshit.
[George S VO] They care
about the bottom dollar.
They wanna be sold out
before the holiday's over.
They wanna move it in
and move it out quick.
[director] If
someone says to you,
"No, no, we get artificial."
That's even worse.
Everyone that gets artificial, a
lot of times they say is better
for the
environment, which is false.
We're not going a forest
and just cutting down trees.
These trees are
just agriculture.
Every time they cut down a tree,
they're planting five to ten
more,
unlike artificial, which
is plastic based in China,
and then it's all the
fossil fuel to get it over here,
and then you throw it out.
[Greg VO] The fake tree, people
don't realize they're gonna last
for 50,000 years,
not going anywhere.
You put that in
a... in a landfill,
it's never leaving.
[Heather VO] My mother,
she got an artificial tree!
I'm like, "What are you doing?!
Like, are you serious?!
You're part of the problem, Mom!
Like, you're f*cking
gonna bankrupt me!"
[George] The whole fake section.
We don't like... we
don't like fake stuff.
Would you put a
plastic man in your bedroom?
Who wants a fake
tree in their life?
You want it real.
You wanna smell it,
touch it, and feel it.
[Ciree laughs]
[director] Ciree, have you heard
from Kevin Hammer at all?
Uh... [laughs]
No.
I mean, I talked to him at the
beginning of the season before
we got trees.
[George N] Ehh...
I know.
[chuckles]
But some developments
have happened since then.
[Greg grunts]
[Greg VO] This year, we had this
crazy thing with Kevin Hammer.
But, uh, he came by my stand.
Me and Kevin had
a wonderful time.
We went to Peter Luger's, he
bought me a beautiful steak
lunch.
We've come to a real,
uh, meeting of the minds,
I think, and...
we switched stands,
which was, uh... it was very,
uh... it was wonderful in a way.
I went into the
Parks Department,
and I asked the guy if he heard
anything about what we're trying
to do.
He's like, "Greg, it's done."
Kevin sent us an email and
you sent us the email so...
"you guys are switched."
[Kevin VO] I don't know, I don't
wanna comment on any of that.
[George N VO] He's a
complex character.
Most people made mistakes
of underestimating him.
He enjoys being the
king of Christmas trees.
He doesn't wanna stop doing it.
You know, it's really nice in
this business to have friends.
You never know.
"Hey, I've run outta
wreaths, I've run outta this,
I've run outta that, I
got too many of this,
I got too many of that."
What are you supposed to
do, go to Canada and get one?
One of your friends.
"Hey, I got three."
"All right, gimme one.
Next time, I'll give you one."
[Kevin VO] I'm not really
interested in that stuff.
Like I just...
Nah, I... I wouldn't like that.
In any event, I've
gotta keep moving.
[Elias] This is a
new spot we opened up,
and it's always
been pretty good.
The people are nice around
here, and it goes pretty smooth,
but all our spots
go pretty smooth.
[director] What do you know
about that stand over there?
I don't know much about it, I
just know that that's a little
bit of competition,
I guess, over there,
and, uh...
we're just doing what we do.
We're trying to get people a
merry Christmas and that's the
bigger goal here.
That's all we're going for.
Tense music
[Heather] Get him
situated, okay?
I'll only take 10, 15 minutes.
[Heater VO] In an ideal world,
we should have a common respect
for people.
[laughs]
You don't set up across the
street from somebody unless
you're a real piece of sh*t.
I don't really know what
they're trying to do over there,
but it is what it is.
[sighs]
[Heather] He's
fricking everywhere!
You know?
[Heather VO] Let us live, Kev.
Come on, throw me a bone.
[chuckles]
She's a woman, but
she got fricking brass ba*ls.
I'm not kidding you.
When we have
competitors do different things,
she doesn't even retaliate,
she just lets 'em ride and just
goes on.
Too busy to deal
with that baby crap.
[Heather VO] You know, there's
just gotta be an understanding,
you know?
Where, like...
if I'm here, you're
not, [chuckling] you know?
[Kevin VO] Do you know what
my father used to tell me?
My father used to tell me,
"Don't ever give a sh*t about
what anybody thinks about you,
because they probably only think
about themselves."
I don't care what people...
I... it doesn't matter to me.
Profit... breeds... competition.
You talked to him?!
[laughs]
Did he say nice things about me?
He always does.
[laughs]
[woman] I can hardly wait
And I've waited
all year long
Not Father Tinsel
nor the lights
Or them same old,
same old songs
And no, it's not
that jolly man
Who streak across the sky
But what I have
been waiting for
Is the hot
Christmas tree guy
You know the one,
you've got one
In your neighborhood
Well, mine
sets up a forest
And I go walking
through his woods
Between the CVS and YMCA
Yeah, that's my winter
wonderland and I
Jingle all the way
[Roscoe VO] Deliveries
have been pretty busy.
[doorbell]
The occasional middle-aged woman
trying to seduce you is pretty
fun.
Christmas tree!
[Hank VO] This one woman was
really trying to get us to stay.
She offered us
drinks and snacks,
and she was asking our taste in
music and playing music over the
speakers.
[woman] I can hardly wait
I've waited all year long
Not for the
tinsel or the...
Well, you know you've
already heard this song
Yeah, when that big man goes
streaking 'cross the sky
All I want in my
stocking is a...
Hot Christmas tree guy
All I want for Christmas
Is my hot
Christmas tree
Guy
[woman VO] Watch it, ladies,
watch it! [chuckles]
Little Greg...
I got him!
I told you.
Tender acoustic music
Imagine starting to
date Little Greg.
He's quiet.
But when you know him,
he's not quiet at all.
Hey, Aggie, guess
what I sold for you.
-One of my things?
-Two of 'em!
[Aggie VO] I don't
think a lot of people know,
he's very loving.
He pays attention
to the small things,
especially towards me.
-Such a great salesman.
-[all laugh]
[Aggie VO] He's a
little more shy,
not very outspoken
like Big Greg is,
but I think that's his mom.
I think his mom taught him to
be very mindful of the words he
says.
They both are the same person
in just different fonts.
[George S VO] So I have a
new amazing woman in my life.
We met at speed dating.
I'll tell you the truth:
I went to several
other speed datings.
Tender music
And Karen was different.
The minute I saw her, I
knew she was the girl for me.
It was like a firecracker
went off in my heart.
She'll make Christmas more
enjoyable when you have somebody
to love and share it with.
I guess I'll find out
what's wrong with her.
I can't find
nothing wrong with her,
so I dunno.
I don't know.
So it's gonna be
one 50 after tax.
[woman] All right.
All right.
You need change?
[woman] I don't.
That's for you.
-Thank you so much.
-[woman] Thank you.
[George N VO] The first weekend
of December is the biggest
weekend of the whole year now.
We've got
everything ready at home.
We'll sell 30 percent or
more of our trees that weekend.
We better sell a
bunch of f*cking trees.
But all this year's
been a busy blur
Don't think I have energy
To add to my
already mad rush
Just 'cause it's
'tis the season
The perfect gift
for me would be
Completions and connections
left from last year
Ski shop encounter
Most interesting
Had his number
but never the time
Most of '81 passed
along those lines
So deck those
halls, trim those trees
Raise up cups of
Christmas cheer
I just need to
catch my breath
Christmas by
myself this year
Calendar picture,
frozen landscape
Chill this
room for 24 days
Evergreens,
sparkling snow
Get this winter over with
Flash back to spring
time, saw him again
Would've been good
to go for lunch
Couldn't agree
when we're both free
We tried, we said
we'd keep in touch
Didn't of course,
'til summertime
Out to the
beach to his boat
Could I join him?
No
This time it was me
Sunburn in the
third degree
Now the
calendar's just one page
Of course, I am excited
Tonight's the
night I've set mind
Not to do too
much about it...
You want a Christmas hug?
Come here.
Aw!
-How you doing?
-[Heather] Good.
-h*, h*, h*!
-[woman] Santa!
Nice, nice, naughty.
-Very naughty.
-[chuckling] Oh!
So we're selling
trees in the rain.
I just passed three
Santas selling nothing.
But we're out there,
we've got our rain gear on,
we're in our tents,
and we're selling trees.
h*, h*, h*.
Getting back to work, Greg.
The ghost of Christmas
past is those light colors.
If we can do that today, we'll
probably be able to do it all
week.
And then...
definitely by
Sunday, we'll know...
how the season's gonna go.
If you're doing
this a long time,
the trends don't change.
By December 3rd, I'll tell you
exactly how many trees I'm gonna
sell, and I'll be very accurate.
Tense music
Jesus Christ.
I mean, usually it's easier,
but this has been a tricky one.
Every day we're open
costs me over 10,000 dollars,
I think.
You know, eight
stands, we have 30 workers,
they're working 24 hours
a day, seven days a week.
The landlords, the rent...
23...
[Greg VO] So it's a
expensive little game.
23 inch.
[Heather VO] You try to figure
out the puzzle of Christmas
trees, and it's
not even a puzzle,
it's just a sh*t show.
I'm walking this way!
Down to Fifth Avenue.
[Jane VO] We generally
talk together about
what's gonna happen this year.
But Ciree, she
buys all the trees.
[Ciree VO] We have
a set target price.
We need to make four times what
we pay for our tree to cover
overhead and make
money off of it.
You have to kind of try to
predict what it's gonna be,
and sometimes you can
be just so off the mark.
Seven feet tall.
[Kevin VO] How can
anybody predict...
how many people
are gonna go away,
which weekend
they're gonna go away,
which people are
not gonna go away?
I'm doing this too
long to predict anything.
[Jane] It certainly isn't gonna
sell for what it should sell
for.
[Ciree] I'm gonna deal with it.
All right?
-Yeah.
-[Ciree] All right!
[Ciree VO] You look at
that tree and be like,
"This is supposed
to be a premium,"
but there's a hole in this side,
or something happened to it,
and so you just get
what you can get for it.
Sell the f*cking tree.
[Heather] It's, like...
scary how quiet it is, you know?
Like, it's really
nerve wracking,
because I should be really busy.
[chuckles]
So far it's like, you know,
11 o'clock and, like,
there's really not
much doing, so...
It's hard when you're
doing a new spot because...
people typically buy their tree
where they bought it from the
year before,
you know?
So changing that pattern...
is... is tricky.
I didn't have high
hopes for it, you know?
I just... I lost a spot,
so I just was trying to make up,
hoping... I was being hopeful and
thought I could find a way to
make up the gap a little
bit for the spot that I lost.
So...
but...
[chuckling] it didn't
quite work out that way,
so what are you gonna do?
You know?
Up on the
housetop reindeer paws
Out jumps good
old Santa Claus
Down through the
chimney with lots of toys
All for the little
ones Christmas joys...
[George S VO] Wow, you
guys picked a gorgeous tree.
[girl chuckles]
And we have 60 dollars.
[George S] Wow!
You go, girl!
Well, this is a little
more than 60 dollars.
How much is this tree?
This is, uh...
Lemme see how many feet it is.
I'll take a look,
I'll take a look.
It says four feet.
This tree is 110.
-How much you guys got?
-60 dollars.
You gotta come up a
little more than that.
How about we get Dad
involved over here?
Did you explain why you think
they might have trouble selling
it for that price?
Because it got
eaten by we... weevils!
How much did Daddy
give you to help out?
[girl] 20!
[George S] Santa
Claus called me!
He told me two girls would come
to my tree stand today and buy a
lovely tree.
And he told me you're gonna get
double presents for Christmas.
How's Dad not gonna...
put in 20 dollars for that?
-Here you go, guys.
-[girls] Thank you.
Don't forget what to do
with that ornament later.
Don't forget what
to do with it, okay?
[George S VO] Sunday's usually
the best day of the week for us,
'cause Sunday's
more of a family day.
This is the set weekend to know
how we're gonna plan for the
rest of the month.
And with this
being a rain-out now,
if we have stuff on order,
we'll try to cancel some stuff.
We'd reroute things and
change things around.
-Here we go!
-[girl] Thank you!
Thank you, thank you!
Merry Christmas!
[George S] See you next year!
[man] Yep!
We should have a lot
of customers right now.
But we don't.
So it all depends
what's gonna happen.
How much does one
that's like this tall cost?
-[man] Uh...
-[woman] Or like this tall?
Yeah, for a Fraser fir, like
a seven-foot Fraser is 299.
[woman] Oh.
Mm, I don't know if we
can make that one happen.
That's like a...
75-dollar Home Depot purchase.
Um, so let's operate in
the less than 200-dollar range.
This is 175 for these trees.
They're between
six and seven feet.
This looks like the part of
the top of the tree that you cut
off.
[Greg VO] You can't
just sell trees on a wall,
with nothing interesting
and guys who don't care,
'cause eventually everybody's
just gonna go to Home Depot
then, or a big box store.
All right, shake hands with it
and we'll see if it's the right
one to bring home, okay?
[Greg VO] A lot of times, people
don't know what they want.
So you gotta help that family.
It has to have a special
feeling when you buy a tree.
I love it!
Do you guys love it?
Should we bring it home?
-[girl] Yes.
-Amazing!
[Greg VO] I've had a lot, a lot
of really magical moments with
people buying a Christmas
tree and just walking down,
carrying it together.
We're very lucky to be
doing what we're doing.
Almost every customer is
happy when they buy a tree.
It's a pretty happy moment.
Trombone
playing jazzy music
[Ciree] Is this local?
Yeah, it is local.
-Okay.
-[woman] Hi!
[phone dings]
Greg wants me to do
all... to do his deliveries.
He wants to do multiple drops.
-I said it cost...
-Uh-oh.
It costs 200 dollars
minimum for a drop.
[George N VO] Kevin has a real
issue with me selling trees to
people he regards
as competitors,
and that conversation
did not end very well.
Everybody gets their
big trees from us...
George, Greg, Heather, they
all get their big trees from us.
[phone dings]
Oh, we got the big tree going.
This is from Ciree.
He called me up the next time
and I didn't even pick up...
I didn't even answer the phone,
I just handed it to Ciree.
And Ciree says, "Allow me to
formally introduce myself."
I'm taking over the business now
and you're dealing with me and
not George.
I'm gonna sell trees
to anybody I feel like.
I think we should
all work together,
"and help each other out."
[Ciree VO] Kevin, I think he's
softened a little bit in his old
age, or so he says.
But Kevin is Kevin.
[phone chirps]
Oh, okay, okay.
I got Ciree texting me.
Balsam trees.
[Ciree VO] It's the
tree season relationship.
"Hey, you got
stuff, I got stuff.
You wanna trade, work out?"
Like, we're
working with each other.
Uplifting music
[Heather] Andrew,
come install a tree!
[Ciree VO] Heather
called me yesterday.
"Do you have a big tree?"
And I'm like, "Let me go look."
Yeah, there's one.
It's not... no
claim... no claim to it.
"Nobody wants it."
If there's something that I can
help her out and it's gonna help
me and it's gonna
help both of us,
that's kind of what you do.
[Heather] Come on, Andrew.
You're giving up, old man?
Seriously?
[Jane VO] It's not
like we share everything.
I mean, our special trade
secrets are our special trade
secrets, but we're
friends and, you know,
when we can help each other
out, we do to a certain extent.
[Andrew] This is
loaded with pine cones.
Okay.
Or you're weak, then
there's that, you know.
[Andrew] I ain't
breaking a sweat.
[Heather laughs]
[Heather] Whoa!
Slipping, slipping, slipping.
It's a beautiful tree.
Put water in him if
you want him to live.
If you want him to
die, don't water him.
-[man] Okay.
-[Heather] Okay, cool.
Thanks... thanks, guys.
[chainsaw]
[Greg grunts]
Tada!
[man] One, two, three!
[Greg] Everybody underneath!
Grab underneath and push up!
You know what you need?
You need a piece of wood!
A qu... a two-by...
Good enough.
Okay.
Who's going to Harlem?
How you doing, Chris?
[Chris on phone] Hi,
good morning, Greg.
How are you?
I'm driving a 20-foot truck with
a 20-foot tree in the back right
now, and I'm an hour late.
Jazzy Christmas music
[Greg grunts]
[sighs]
What a harrowing
journey I was on.
[Greg VO] We have a wonderful
project we do every year.
This group in Harlem,
they put up a tree,
and it's a very important tree.
The guy who was selling it
to them priced them out,
and they were very scared
in what they were gonna do.
Ciree asked me if I would do it
for them for the price that they
were offering.
We do it with a lot of care
and we help 'em decorate it.
We work on it for
like three days.
It's 20-feet tall.
Heartwarming
Christmas music
[cheering]
You have a big tree-lighting
ceremony with Santa,
which is gonna be
probably me this year.
Santa's confusing a
little bit for kids,
but Santa is very real.
High five!
Turn around, turn
around for Grandma.
h*, h*, h*!
[Greg VO] Santa's a spirit.
The spirit of giving.
Computer?
You want a phone?
h*, h*, h*!
Oh, arts and crafts!
And you know, if you
address a letter "Dear Santa"
and put in a post office box,
and it requests a gift in
New York City, it gets answered.
Every one of them.
So obviously there's
many, many Santas.
h*, h*, h*!
-How going, dude?
-Good! How are you?
You from Atlanta?
I'm from the North Pole.
h*, h*, h*!
[Little Greg VO] My
dad became Santa when, uh,
our original Santa canceled,
and it was like the busiest day
of the year.
[Greg VO] It was a big
event, like there was 500 people
showing up.
It was like,
"Somebody's gotta be Santa."
[Little Greg VO]
He had his large, white beard,
so everyone
turned to him and said,
"You gotta put on the suit."
[Greg VO] And,
uh, I became Santa.
[Greg] Hello!
Come on in!
Welcome!
Welcome to Toyland!
[Greg VO] The
last bunch of years,
I'm really studying hard
about being a true Santa.
And what do you
like for Christmas?
Garbage truck?
You got it, buddy.
There's never a problem
when I'm Santa Claus.
[chuckles]
We visited St. Mary's
Hospital for Children.
Hello.
h*, h*, h*!
Hi!
How are you?
[Greg VO] And I... you know,
I thought it was gonna be a
rewarding kind of an experience,
but it... it blew my mind away.
The love that
families had for the kids...
Many days delivering
toys to good boys.
You waking up for Santa Claus?
Nice to meet you, my buddy!
Merry Christmas.
[kiss]
Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas.
[kiss]
h*, h*, h*!
[Greg] You want a picture?
-Get in there.
-[man] Thanks.
[Greg] h*, h*, h*!
-Look at that picture!
-Look at that!
h*, h*, h*!
-Thank you, Santa.
-[laughs]
-You do great work.
-[Greg] Thank you.
h*, h*, h*!
Hey, guys.
Hello.
This is my, uh, camera crew.
[phone rings]
Hello?
Okay.
Oh.
I mean, can we do it?
I mean, can we do it like
in the next couple of days?
No, right?
I mean, if we do some of the
planning up until Saturday,
I go away for two weeks, come
back and we do the radiation,
is that crazy?
[woman on phone] Well, you
have to talk to Dr. Grossman.
All right.
We got bad news this morning.
Apparently, my prostate
cancer is in my lungs.
No, it's okay.
[chuckles]
No problem.
The surgeon, radiation people,
and everybody are having a
conference right now, and
they're gonna tell me by today
what the course of action is,
which is not a good
sign when they do that.
[coughing] I'd rather them
tell me in a couple weeks.
They don't think
surgery's a... it's gonna work.
I mean, they said it'd
be too extensive, so...
a short course of radiation.
[Greg groans]
Which I have a funny feeling
they think has no chance of
working whatsoever.
Tender music
I'll call my sister.
She'll be mad if
I don't call her.
-Hey, Noreen.
-[Noreen] Hey.
[Greg] Surgery's out.
They said it'd be...
according to them, it
would be too extensive.
The part of the lung they'd
have to remove would be too
extensive.
[Noreen] Too expensive?
That's what I said!
But she said "Extensive."
"Extensive," not "expensive."
"Extensive."
-[Noreen] Expansive!
-Extensive!
Extensive, right?
Whatever.
[Noreen]
"Expansive" is the word.
I think it's "extensive."
-"Extensive" is the word.
-[Noreen] Extensive!
-Yes!
-[Noreen] Okay, okay.
Okay.
So...
[Noreen] So what is it gonna be?
A short course of radiation.
-[Noreen] Oh, alrighty.
-Yeah.
Tender music
[Greg VO] Life goes on, right?
It's not the end.
As Gandalf says in
Lord of the Rings,
"It's not the end."
Alcoholics Anonymous
teaches us, you know,
we live day by day,
so today's a nice day.
And, um, I truly
believe in the future,
you know, that...
So...
so far, my plan is to be the
worst patient that ever lived
and, you know, I
want them to say,
"That guy in 108 is a...
he's an a*s!"
I don't want this "Oh,
he's such a good guy."
But right now, I'm a good guy.
But when it get... if I
ever get sick like that,
I'm gonna be a...
my plan is to be a
jerk, ringing the bell.
"What does he want now?"
No, I couldn't do that.
[Heather VO] I gotta
finish eating my breakfast.
What's your ETA
to... roll it down!
What's your ETA
to Marcus Garvey?
What's your ETA that address?
[man] 20 minutes.
What's your ETA
to Marcus Garvey?
You wanted you to learn
how to put the netting on?
Here.
This is actually the wrong size
netting but I don't give a sh*t.
[Keith VO] She is...
an embodiment of an
entrepreneur in New York.
One, two, three, pop there.
[Keith VO] Just
constant, nonstop.
You think she's
being aggressive,
you think she's...
-angry...
-They should come down today.
It looks like crap.
But after she tells you in a
very strict way how you get
things done, she asks if you're
okay and what she can do for
you.
Can you get in my car?
[man] All right, let's go.
Heartwarming music
And if anything, she
tries to hire people who are
unhireable.
Why do you feel the need to
tell everybody that you talk to
that you have a... that
you have a criminal record?
Why do you have the need to tell
everybody that you got outta
prison?
Like, why do you... is
that who you are today?
-Are you in prison today?
-[Andrew] No.
So by telling people that,
you're just making yourself a
f*cking prisoner of your past!
I have a criminal record,
and I'm not shameful of it.
People see these bumps in their
roads and they think they're
barricades.
They're not
barricades, they're just bumps.
You just gotta, like...
you know, move
past it, you know?
You never talk to
me about your past.
Never!
You talk about your future, you
talk about your things that you
want outta life, and
you talk about today.
So why is it that when
you talk to other people,
you talk backwards?
Like, think about
that for a second.
You gotta stop doing that, dude.
Because you're past that.
You're not Yesterday Andrew.
You're Today Andrew.
Be Today Andrew.
I don't even know
where the hell I'm going.
People have said that it's kind
of crazy all the people that I
take in, but it's like,
how could you not do that?
Good?
Happy?
[Heather VO] Family
isn't just blood,
family are the people around
you that you love endlessly,
and that you love
unconditionally.
I have five kids.
My husband has three kids and
then I have two adopted kids,
and I always knew
I was gonna adopt,
so I just, um... like, my
oldest son is my cousin's son,
so we adopted him first, and
then he asked me to adopt his
brother, so we went
and found his brother,
so...
that was that.
Amazing, you're
gonna make a request.
So like, probably next month.
Amazing.
Lovely!
Awesome!
Great.
[laughs]
[sawing]
There's never been a season
where I couldn't tell you how it
was going as much as this one.
But today was a good day, and
it's gonna continue on being a
good day, but tomorrow
might get washed out.
Tender folksy music
[Ciree VO] The first and
second weekend in December.
We need to have
these two good weekends.
If it's raining, you know
it's gonna be a shitty day.
There's so many different
components that come into play
that are gonna
make you successful,
and a lot of those components
are outta your control.
[thunder rumbles]
[Little Greg VO] Sunday,
the big hours are 11 to five.
And it rained 11 to five, so...
Today wasn't terrible, but
we're still behind last year,
so...
It's all right,
we'll make it up...
hopefully.
[Kevin VO] It was
busy on Saturday.
Sunday was slow
because it rained.
It was, like, incredibly slow.
I think it's time to get the
cup out and start panhandling.
[Ciree VO] We do this a lot:
"Well, we just need to
take in this much."
We just need to do
this much to average.
We just need to need to sell..."
and it's a lot of, like,
"We need to do this," but...
you can only do so much, too.
Last year, what we
did a lot of was...
we call it the "hot shuffle."
I tried to move around the
trees as much as I could.
Like, the last week, every
night they were going around.
I'm not putting these expensive
trees on these locations.
I'm gonna put them
where I think they are,
and I'm gonna try to
sell more wholesale.
So that's just a matter of
getting everybody the right mix.
But each location is different.
Mellow tender music
[George S VO] We sell
what we sell to the end.
Let's see how many
more we can sell.
[Georgie VO] I'm
quiet at nighttime,
and I watch,
because I say, "Heather!
I catch anybody stealing a
tree, I'm gonna f*ck them up!"
[chuckles]
She said, "George..."
I mean, I used to really protect
her when I first got here.
Now I've learned
from her that, um,
"George, it's just a tree."
I'd say, "f*cking not
on my watch, man!"
[man] Jingle
bells, jingle bells
Jingle all the way
Oh what fun it is to ride
In a one-horse
open sleigh...
[George] Usually, when you
have this much trees here...
it's a sign of how
bad the year was.
Like, we never
have this many here.
We have a trailer
still outside full,
we have laying in
the street, we have...
we have 'em all over here.
You know, so we try to
make the best of it.
You know, life is about
family and friends and love and
happiness.
I was looking for love,
and I happened to
meet my soulmate.
The woman of my
dreams is a reality.
So yes, I'm very
happy; I found love,
I found the most
amazing girl in the world,
and I'm on cloud nine.
I'm the happiest
man on the planet.
Thank you!
Merry Christmas!
Spasibo!
[Greg VO] Give her a kiss
for working so hard to today!
[Aggie VO] Turn
around, Big Greg!
Blind your eyes!
[Greg] Aww!
[chuckles]
Can we do one of those...
one of those leg moves?
One of those...
Come on, one!
[Aggie] We've tried the dip.
We practiced it.
[Greg] Try the dip.
Try the dip, one dip.
[Aggie] No?
He's so embarrassed!
He's so embarrassed.
I think that coming back
home was a... a move that
I don't think a lot of
20-year-old boys would make.
He kind of had to,
but he wanted to, too.
He kind of knew that
his dad was struggling.
It was a family
business; he knew that.
But it's a piece of your dad.
I mean...
my dad died, but it was quick.
It was like three days gone.
I can't imagine watching.
Like, you're watching...
You don't know when...
it's the last time.
[Greg] Here we go.
Going up the escalator.
That's what I'm told to do.
Tender music
They got me the little room now.
Getting ready.
You know, it took me getting
cancer to realize I should
stop and smell the
roses a little bit more,
stop worrying about
every little thing.
Getting excited.
I like getting knocked out.
It's the best sleep
you'll ever know.
[Greg VO] We're all gonna die.
But I've got the gift of knowing
that and stop wasting time.
Stop thinking like
you have forever.
You don't.
Nobody here does.
And it's a gift.
And we should all
remember it every day.
I've gone through some stuff.
They take out your prostate,
they put you on diapers and
60 days of radiation.
Off to recovery.
[Greg VO] But it hasn't
been that bad, really.
Even wearing a diaper
turned out to be okay.
[chuckles]
Santa's great.
There's no reason not to start
enjoying life right this second,
no matter what your
circumstances are.
I mean, my
circumstances have gotten worse,
I guess, but I'm
happier than I was.
And everybody could be as
happy as you want to be.
Who said that?
Einstein, I think.
Somebody like that.
You'll be happy as
you choose to be.
Heartwarming music
There's Greg behind me.
Say hi, Greg.
Hi, New York.
Hi, Mom.
Hi, Mom.
Hi, Mom.
[Little Greg VO] My dad was...
more sick than we thought,
and he was going to Cambodia,
so I figured...
it'd be a good time to...
hang out with him
for a few weeks.
-[Greg] Say hi, Greg.
-Is that a video?
-[Greg] Say hi to New York.
-Hi, New York.
[Greg] Hi, Mom.
Greg, look at me.
Greg.
-Video?
-[Greg] Hi, Mom.
Hi, Mom.
h*, h*, h*, merry Christmas!
All the way from Angkor Wat!
Santa came to
give the good elephants
their present for Christmas.
h*, h*, h*!
What do you say?
h*, h*, h*!
[women] h*, h*, h*!
Yeah, he's Santa
all over the world.
[Eric VO] Little Greg is
no longer Little Greg.
He's just "Greg" to me now.
He's does as much as Big
Greg did in the other years.
He's become the Greg that comes
around from stand to stand.
[Greg] There's this many left?
[man] I just texted
him; that's what he said.
[Greg] Greg, is this
the whole operation?
-[Little Greg] Yeah.
-All right.
[Greg VO] Well,
Greg's been running it, really,
the whole year.
I may not be able to
function in a year or two.
I might be in a hospital.
[voice wavering] The only time I
cried since I got diagnosed with
cancer
is thinking I might not know
what Greg looks like when he
gets older.
I might miss some of that.
[Little Greg VO]
He's the best dad.
Yeah.
Couldn't ask for anyone better.
[director] Does he know
that you feel that way?
I think so.
I love you, Dad.
We don't say that
too much, but...
I do.
And, uh...
I'm gonna keep this
thing going for a while.
-[George N VO] Okay, hey guys!
-[man VO] Hello!
-How are you?
-[George N] Good!
What can we help you find?
We're looking for a tree.
-Super last minute.
-[laughing] Okay.
Never thought I'd be
doing this in 50 years.
I can remember joking with Kevin
Hammer the first couple of years
we were doing it, "Can you
imagine... do you think we'll be"
standing on the street corner
when we're 50 years old selling
trees?
No f*cking way!"
You know?
-[man] Ooh.
-All right, sniff it out, boys.
[man] Sniff it!
[George N VO] You know,
sometimes something happens,
it's like a
serendipitous moment,
you go with it, and you
don't know where it's going,
but...
there you are, 50 years later,
and we brighten up people's
lives.
I think that's pretty
g*dd*mn amazing and cool!
[laughs]
You know, that we can do that.
Alrighty!
There's your tree.
You wanna hold it?
[woman] See you next year!
Thank you!
You'll see him
next year anyways.
[woman] Are you out of it?
-[George N] Time to retire!
-Aww.
Way to go!
That's awesome!
-50 years!
-That's amazing!
Yeah.
Yeah, we're saying that's
probably the last tree I'll be
selling.
[chuckles] So...
-Well, congratulations!
-Yeah, there you go!
-It's a special one.
-It definitely is.
It absolutely is.
What, my millionth
tree or something?
I'm sure it is.
Tender music
[Jane] Flip me over, I'm done.
Done.
Done this a long time.
It was great, it's
still great, but...
time to pass it on.
-[Jane] Bye, New York!
-Goodbye, New York!
Have a Merry Christmas!
I'm getting teary...
Let's go.
We love you guys.
[crying] I'm crying
because we're leaving.
[laughs]
[laughing] You're crying
because we're leaving?
[Jane] I know, it
just dawned on me!
[George N] It
just dawned on you?!
Yes!
Carolers singing
h*, h*, h*!
Oh my God, Santa,
I've been a good girl!
[Greg] I know!
[laughs]
Sure, sure.
h*, h*, h*!
-Thank you.
-[Greg] My pleasure.
-[woman] Merry Christmas
-h*, h*, h*!
There's a special going on:
free...
real mistletoe in that tin box.
That came right off the
top of a tree in Oregon,
by the cutest
people in the world.
-Aw, thanks!
-[chuckles]
-[man] Thank very much.
-Merry Christmas!
Free candy cane too.
You want a candy cane?
[Heather VO] I've never been
in a situation where somebody
doesn't leave with a tree
over like a couple of dollars.
Like, a business
owner is just who I am,
you know, my shell.
Like, my inner
person, I'm a human.
It's not gonna make
or break me, you know,
to give somebody a tree, but
it might make or break their
spirit, so I don't wanna be
held responsible for breaking
somebody's spirit.
Oh, come on, let's go.
Let's go, let's go.
Come on, Jasper.
Get over here, Mike.
Get this side.
Good luck tonight, Santa!
Don't work too hard.
h*, h*, h*!
I gotta work all night.
It's a long night for Santa.
Choir singing
It's Christmas morning!
How's my beautiful son doing?
Greg, gimme a "Merry
Christmas, will you?"
[groaning] Merry Christmas.
[Greg, in singsong]
Merry Christmas.
[Little Greg] Oh God!
[chuckling] Merry Christmas.
[Heather VO] From my
family to yours:
Merry Christmas!
-Merry Christmas!
-[laughs]
You filthy animal!
Mellow Christmas music
Merry Christmas!
Welcome to our house!
Come on in!
To Karen, love George!
[woman] Oh my God,
it's a wedding ring.
[Karen] Holy sh*t.
[George S, kissing] I love you.
I love you too.
[Karen] Okay, that's all.
Okay, good.
[whispering] I love you too.
[George S, whispering] I want to
take that next step with you.
I'm really happy with how well
our succession will go because
we have such competent
people, competent successors.
[Ciree VO] So, I'll be
the old boss next year.
[Greg] Ugh, I gotta get socks.
All right, son.
The time has finally come.
You get to wear...
the really good...
-the really special Santa hat.
-I have my hat.
Wear it with pride.
Lead... lead the group.
Remember, you're the leader.
Your head is just massive.
[Ciree VO] It's
not just a business.
It's a family, really.
It is a family.
We are like a small
little tree family.
Each of us are like the
aunts and uncles over there,
and then we have our own kids.
[Heather VO] We are a group.
We do have a lot in common.
We don't spend
enough time together,
and it's a shame.
[Greg VO] I asked Santa this
year for medical health.
I truly believe if you ask Santa
from your heart for what you
need, what you want,
Santa will give it to you.
[George S] We all should
get together once a year
and hang out.
[George N] One of you
gotta invite Kevin Hammer!
[laughter]
[Heather VO] We've
spent the past 40 days
giving people all this joy and
being part of these wonderful
moments of people's lives.
[child] Wow.
[Heather VO] Every
year, like, I do this,
it is a shot in the dark,
but it's like nothing else.
We get to watch
families grow and,
you know, hear about
their stories every year.
Those are the most
valuable moments in life.
[Greg VO] It's not
about the season.
It's about you see the little
kid light up next to his dad
getting the tree.
[George N VO] The Christmas tree
is a talisman of ancient power
that brings together people and
families that gather around it
to celebrate togetherness.
It's powerful, especially here
in the gray of New York City.
We bring all this green energy.
[Jane VO] We wouldn't sell trees
anywhere else but New York.
[Kevin VO] From the
bottom of my heart,
I don't like New York City,
I love New York City.
It's New York!
It's home!
They're angels...
if there's such a thing.
[George S VO] Christmas
trees, it's not about you,
because you're not
just selling a product,
you're selling moments in time.
[Heather VO] Christmas is
believing in
something that you can't see.
[Greg VO] And that's the spirit.
Santa is a frame of mind.
You can do it every day.
No question in my mind.
[sighs]
The day after
Christmas, you start again.
Rock version of "Rocking
Around the Christmas Tree"
Rocking around
Christmas tree
At the
Christmas party hop
Mistletoe hung
where you can see
Every couple
tries to stop
Rockin' around
the Christmas tree
Let the
Christmas spirit ring
Later we'll have
some pumpkin pie
And we'll do
some caroling
You will get a sentimental
feeling when you hear
Voices singing,
let's be jolly
Deck the halls
with boughs of holly
Rockin' around
the Christmas tree
Have a happy holiday
Everyone dancin' merrily
In the new
old-fashioned way
Rockin' around
the Christmas tree
Let the
Christmas spirit ring
Later we'll have
some pumpkin pie
And we'll do
some caroling
You will get a sentimental
feeling when you hear
Voices singing,
let's be jolly
Deck the halls
with boughs of holly
You will get a sentimental
feeling when you hear
Voices singing,
let's be jolly
Deck the halls
with boughs of holly
Rockin' around
the Christmas tree
Have a happy holiday
Everyone
dancin' merrily...
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Merchants of Joy, The (2025)
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