The 75-foot, 11-foot Norway Spruce was delivered to 30 Rockefeller Plaza by flatbed truck as onlookers lined the street.<\/p>\n
The tree will soon be surrounded by scaffolding so crews can wrap it in 50,000 lights and top it with a nearly one-ton star for its shining moment. The tree-lighting will be held Wednesday, Dec. 3 during a ceremony airing on NBC and Peacock<\/a>. \u00a0<\/p>\n This year\u2019s tree was donated by the Russ family of East Greenbush, New York \u2013 where it stood on a generational family property for over 60 years.<\/p>\n Judy Russ, after visiting Rockefeller Center last holiday season with her son Liam, submitted the tree for consideration to honor her late husband Dan, who died at the age of 32 in 2020.<\/p>\n Dan\u2019s great grandparents Edward and Mattie May Doran purchased the property over a century ago and planted the tree decades later. After Judy and Dan moved into the house in 2017, they\u2019d joke about renting a crane to decorate it for Christmas, or perhaps even one having it be the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree.<\/p>\n \u201cDonating the tree is a way to honor my late husband Dan and all of our family members who have passed,” Judy Russ said. “I\u2019m excited to make more cherished memories with my family and childhood friends as it becomes the world\u2019s Christmas tree.”<\/p>\n Russ\u2019 friend\u2019s father, a former Rockefeller Center security supervisor, texted a picture of the tree to Rockefeller Center\u2019s head gardener Erik Pauze, who has selected the tree each holiday season<\/a> for the last 30-plus years.<\/p>\n \u201cI got a text of a picture from an old buddy of mine who I used to work with at Rockefeller Center,\u201d Pauze told NBC Local. \u201cI said, \u2018Where\u2019s that?\u2019 and when he told me I said, \u2018Wow! I\u2019m pretty close. I\u2019ll be there tomorrow.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n He was there again Thursday, and this time he brought the tree back to New York City with him. The tree — which stood next to the garage on the family property and served as a jungle gym for seven-year-old Liam — was wrapped, cut down by chainsaw and lowered onto a flatbed truck.<\/p>\n Pauze rode int he truck’s passenger seat as the tree made its way over the bridge, into Manhattan, and down 49th Street to its new holiday home.<\/p>\n \u201cIt became a perfect tree to be in front of 30 Rockefeller Plaza,\u201d Pauze said. \u201cAnd it became a tree from a family generational property. So, it\u2019s a good way to remember their family, as well, and that\u2019s one of the reasons they wanted to donate the tree.\u201d<\/p>\n Judy Russ, who grew up in New York City, and Liam were in attendance for the tree\u2019s arrival Saturday. The two carried out the annual tradition of the tree doners using a sledgehammer to drive a spike into the center of the trunk before the tree is positioned into place on its stand.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m excited that the whole world can see it,” Liam previously told TODAY<\/a>.<\/p>\n The tree will stand as the ultimate symbol of Christmas spirit, while also paying tribute to Dan Russ and his ancestors. \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cSpread joy, spread cheer, love one another. Think of our family, think of my husband, think of us,\u201d Judy Russ said. \u201cWe\u2019re just happy to share it with everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Rockefeller](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Photo-1-2025-Rockefeller-Center-Christmas-Tree-Cutting.jpg\")
Judy Russ and her son Liam, 7, pose in front of the wrapped 75-foot tall Norway Spruce that the Russ family donated to serve as this year’s Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree in East Greenbush, NY. (Diane Bondareff\/AP Content Services for Tishman Speyer)<\/p>\n