Colts Neck's Holiday Season Starts the Weekend Before Thanksgiving This Year

In early June, Delicious Orchards co-owner Michael McDonald walked a reporter from The Two River Times down a row of the store's apple trees and pointed to a single blossom. He explained that the trees should have been full of blooms by then. He called the April heat wave and freeze that followed catastrophic for the orchard that produces the store's signature cider.

With most of the local apple crop gone, the usual late-fall routine has moved somewhere else. Eastmont Orchards has closed for the year, and Battleview Orchards in neighboring Freehold makes its cider doughnuts with sourced apples. What's left on the Colts Neck calendar is a vineyard, a catering counter and a Christmas tree field that opens five days before Thanksgiving.

Four nights in April

New Jersey's official account of the freeze lays out what happened. A warm spell that pushed some areas above 90 degrees brought trees into early bloom. Then lows in the 20s between April 19 and April 22 damaged blossoms and newly forming fruit across the state. Some growers expected losses near or above 90 percent, according to the Governor's office.

Timing made the damage worse. Rutgers' Monmouth County bloom tracking put the earliest varieties in bloom on April 14 and at petal fall on April 22. That means the cold arrived during the most fragile window, and Rutgers' fruit advisory noted that low-lying blocks at full bloom were most at risk.

In Colts Neck, Eastmont Orchards took the worst of it. David Barclay, who grows fruit on the 100-acre pick-your-own farm, told the Asbury Park Press he had never seen anything like it.

"I'm 77, I was born here, and I haven't seen a freeze that took the whole crop before. It took everything. There's not any fruit, on any tree."

Eastmont kept its hayrides, corn maze, sunflowers and pumpkins going this fall, NJ.com reported. As of late October, though, the Eastmont Orchards website says the farm is closed for the 2026 season and expects to reopen in mid-July 2027 for peaches and nectarines. Anyone who usually ends the fall with one more Eastmont stop will have to wait until next summer.

Just over the township line in Freehold, Battleview Orchards skipped apple picking this year as well. Its country market is still open, and it makes its cider doughnuts with sourced apples. The Battleview country store is open year-round from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and closed on Tuesdays.

The vineyard walk that looks back at the year

Grapes were hit too. A statewide survey of wine growers reported by NJ.com found severe bud damage from the April 20–21 freeze, with many vineyards reporting losses of 60 to 80 percent and some losing all their grapes. Rutgers found that primary shoots on vines in frost-prone, low-lying sites were injured or killed. Secondary shoots were coming in, but yields could still be lower. Those are statewide numbers. Each vineyard's results depend on its own site.

On Saturday, November 7, 4JG's Orchard & Vineyard at 127 Hillsdale Road holds a walk called "Let's walk the block!" Vineyard Manager Craig will talk about how the weather affected the 2026 vintage and show the damage from both fall and spring. If the weather holds, the walk ends with a taste from the barrel room. Tours run at 1:15 and 3 p.m., and admission is $15 per adult, which covers a tasting and a glass of wine. Families are welcome, and children must be with an adult. Picnics are encouraged, since the day also closes out the winery's Harvest Weekends.

That walk is a chance to hear about this growing year from someone who worked the rows, and it's the last regular-season event before 4JG's switches over to holiday mode.

The counter does the work the orchards usually do

With fewer local apples, Thanksgiving in Colts Neck depends more on the catering counter at Delicious Orchards on Route 34. Its 2026 Thanksgiving catering menu runs November 21 through 25. To order, call (732) 462-1989 and ask for Catering. Every order needs 72 hours' notice.

Thanksgiving falls on Thursday, November 26. With 72 hours' notice, a Wednesday pickup on November 25 means calling by Sunday, November 22. That's the same weekend 4JG's opens its tree field.

Each half-tray serves 8 to 12 people. Four half-trays of sides for a table of ten come to between $200 and $260, depending on which you pick, before any turkey.

Pies run through a separate process. Delicious Orchards posts a 2026 Pie Pickup FAQ and order form for its Thanksgiving pie fundraisers and bulk pickup. It sent enrollment emails to past and first-time customers, and if yours didn't arrive, the store suggests checking your junk folder and email subscription status. Questions go to [email protected]. Store hours for Thanksgiving week are best confirmed directly with the store.

The store's site still lists its fresh-pressed apple cider, along with cranberry apple and tart apple versions. It describes the cider as pressed, pasteurized and bottled in Colts Neck.

Trees before turkey

This year's biggest change to the calendar comes from 4JG's. The winery closes to the public on November 14 and 15 to restyle its shop for the holidays. It then opens its you-pick, we-cut tree season on Saturday, November 21, the weekend before Thanksgiving. Its own listing points out that early opening. The 2026 season starts a day earlier on the calendar than last year's, which reopened on November 22.

Families can choose a tree with no entrance fee. Wine tastings and wine by the glass are served indoors or by the firepit, and tastings are also offered in the winery's 18th-century house for guests 21 and older, for a fee. Holiday family photo sessions can be booked ahead for a separate fee. As of June 2026, the winery is family-friendly after a previous season that was adults-only, so this is the first tree season where the whole household can come in together.

For households hosting Thanksgiving, the early opening matters. Picking a tree on November 21 or 22 and calling in the catering order that same weekend gets both done before the holiday week. The weekend right after Thanksgiving still works too, since 4JG's is open Friday, November 27, through Sunday, November 29.

November into December, in order

1. Saturday, November 7. 4JG's vineyard walk on the 2026 vintage. Tours at 1:15 and 3 p.m., $15 per adult.
2. November 14 and 15. 4JG's is closed to the public while the shop is restyled.
3. November 21 and 22. 4JG's tree season opens, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Delicious Orchards' catering window opens November 21.
4. Sunday, November 22. The 72-hour notice cutoff for a Wednesday catering pickup.
5. Thursday, November 26. Thanksgiving. Fox Hollow Vineyards is closed for the day.
6. November 27 to 29. 4JG's trees from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. At Fox Hollow, the Marin Contini Duo plays Friday from 6 to 9 p.m., Amanda & Nick Duo plays Saturday from 2 to 5 p.m., and Belmar Grass Duo plays Sunday from 2 to 5 p.m.
7. December 5 and 6. 4JG's trees from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The Colts Neck Township Schools community events page lists the Holiday Tree Lighting at Town Hall on Saturday, December 5, and Country Christmas at Montrose School on Sunday, December 6. Confirm the times with the township before you go.
8. December 12 and 13. The last 4JG's tree weekend, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Eastmont plans to reopen in mid-July 2027 for peaches and nectarines, so Colts Neck's next local fruit is about eight months away.

When a season this local shifts its dates, the people around you start comparing notes on what's open and when. That's often the kind of conversation The Haven Group has with neighbors throughout the year. If you have a question about Colts Neck, or want help planning a move around the holidays, we're glad to talk it through. Get in Touch.