Every winter, Valley View Farms in Cockeysville turns its 10,000-square-foot showroom into a glittering Christmas shop, stocked with wooden nutcrackers, thousands of ornaments and decorated trees on rotating stands.

Families have purchased Christmas presents and decorations at the northern Baltimore County garden center and nursery since the 1970s.

But a challenge loomed for employees over this season’s holiday preparations: President Donald Trump’s tariffs.

U.S. imports of Chinese-made Christmas decor, which totaled nearly $3 billion in 2024, were down 34% this year after Trump imposed steep and wildly fluctuating tariffs on China, according to the latest census data.

As a result, many holiday retailers are dealing with smaller inventories and higher prices.

“It’s really been a difficult year for our members,” said Jami Warner, executive director of the American Christmas Tree Association, which represents artificial tree manufacturers and retailers. “This is a very happy industry, and this has not been a happy year.”

But employees at Valley View say they leaned on their financial resources and decades of experience to keep the economic climate from ruining Christmas.

“We were trying to look out for our customer base and minimize any impact,” said Kathy Foard, the Christmas shop’s longtime manager. “But it took an effort.”

Prices and supply have remained mostly stable, Foard said. And customers have continued to stream in, combing through aisles of ornaments, Nativity scenes, figurines, Advent calendars and more under a canopy of twinkling lights.

Trump has made tariffs a central tenet of his economic agenda, arguing that they will spark a revival of domestic manufacturing. But they’ve hit many small businesses hard.

“If you’re a smaller retailer, there’s only so much you can absorb,” Warner said. “Many companies had to unfortunately have layoffs and hiring freezes.”

Levies on China, the dominant supplier of Christmas goods to the U.S., peaked this year at 145% and now stand at 20%, with variations by product. Almost all imported Christmas decor is subject to tariffs of at least 30%, Warner said.

Many companies responded by buying fewer goods. Others passed the additional costs on to their consumers. Prices on ornaments and artificial trees are up 10%-15% this year, Warner said.

With the trade wars showing no signs of easing, next year is likely to bring additional pressures for retailers.

Foard said the planning for Trump’s tariffs began before the administration even announced them. As Valley View started placing orders for its Christmas merchandise in January, conversations with suppliers made clear what was coming.

The business purchased some ornaments and trees before the U.S.-China trade war escalated to its peak in the spring and stored the inventory in its warehouse space — something not all businesses have the ability to do.

“It was a gamble,” Foard said. “We felt like we needed to get the merchandise in our hands and in our warehouse sooner than we normally would.”

Valley View also paid higher prices on some items and has tried to absorb those costs without raising prices on consumers, she said.

Foard, 67, began working at Valley View as a cashier and tomato picker when she was 16. She has spent much of her five decades at the garden center overseeing the Christmas shop, which was started by her late husband, John “Punkey” Foard.

Valley View counts other lifers among its managerial staff. Over the decades, they’ve helped steer the business through economic downturns, rising costs and the existential threat of big-box stores and online shopping.

That experience, they said, helped them navigate the challenges of the past year.

“We’ve all been here forever and been through it before,” said Carrie Engel, another Valley View veteran who manages the greenhouse. “We’ve gone through recessions and come back and done all right.”

As one of Valley View’s main attractions, the Christmas shop requires a lengthy preparation. Employees begin in August by clearing out spring and summer garden supplies and setting up the structure of the store. Decorating takes around two months.

The crowds start to swell soon after Veterans Day in November. By then, the aisles are filled with Christmas-themed floor mats, socks, tea towels, throw pillows and snow globes. In the greenhouse is a selection of poinsettias, wreaths and garlands decorated in pine and berries.

An assortment of oddball ornaments includes a tomato, a snowboarding Santa and a pickleball racket.

“There’s no doubt where we are on York Road because everything’s lit,” Engel said.

Despite tariffs and other economic pressures that have plagued small businesses, Engel said the business is in line financially with where it was last year.

Valley View has long been able to count on a loyal customer base, Foard said. Generations of families return each year to see the Christmas display and purchase an ornament.

“Even when times are tough, people are still going to find a way to celebrate the holidays, their traditions and family,” Foard said. “I think we’re fortunate, in that respect, that we’re in that business.”