Purple Christmas trees a surprise star this holiday season

A Christmas tree farm in upstate New York is offering something extra special this year.

The Hanggi family has experimented with painting trees in the past and finds that purple is a crowd-pleaser.

The farm - which is located in wine country - first painted trees purple for a local grape festival.

This year they plan to paint up to 60 trees in sugar plum purple, using a food-grade colorant that isn't harmful to people or pets. There will also be some blue trees up for grabs.

Hanggi's tree farm - purple tree
Hanggi's tree farm - purple tree

Benjamin Hanggi poses with his father David alongside their reindeer Chet and Cupid (Facebook/Hanggi's Tree Farm)

The paint helps the needles stay on the trees longer, USA Today reports - that's good news for homeowners who balk at the idea of constantly vacuuming under the tree.

As for how the trees are painted, David Hanggi tells USA Today says it isn't hard to do, but the process is a closely-guarded secret.

“It’s a ‘grandma’s secret apple pie recipe’ type of thing,” he told the publication.

If you're in southern Ontario, Hanggi's Tree farm is roughly a 2.5-hour drive from the Niagara Falls border if you'd like the see the colourful creations for yourself.