Yes, they've already picked the Rockefeller Center's giant Christmas tree for 2023

The Rockefeller Center Christmas tree is coming to town. The Center has picked the huge tree that, per tradition, it will display in its plaza this year in New York City.

The tree is coming from Vestal, N.Y., is 80 to 85 years old, weighs 12 tons and is about 80 feet tall and 43 feet wide. It will land at Rockefeller Center Plaza on Nov. 11, accompanied by a ceremony with book readings, letters to Santa and ornament making.

Erik Pauze has chosen the tree for the past 30 years. As the head gardener at the Rockefeller Center, he is responsible for finding the tree, feeding and watering it, trimming it, measuring it and transporting it, a sometimes monthslong process.

Pauze started as a “summer helper” at the Rockefeller Center in 1988 and now manages all of the Center’s gardens. But he thinks about the annual Christmas trees almost every day, he said in an interview with the Center’s magazine.

“What I look for is a tree you would want in your living room, but on a grander scale. It’s got that nice, perfect shape all around,” he said. “And most of all, it’s gotta look good for those kids who turn the corner at 30 Rock; it needs to instantly put a huge smile on their faces. It needs to evoke that feeling of happiness.”