The Christmas tree is the central decoration in many homes this time of year. Although the real vs. artificial debate reigns supreme each year, I admit to being a fan of the real tree–I’ve never had or wanted anything else. A real tree, if cut fresh and kept watered, will last the entire season, filling your home with a wonderful aroma. Visiting a Christmas tree farm is a fun activity for family members of all ages.
As many of you know, my parents own Storeyland Christmas tree farm in Northeastern Ohio. I spend A LOT of my time there in November and December. Because of that, and my 30+ years working on a Christmas tree farm I’d love to give you some tips for cutting down your own Christmas tree.
First: Plan Ahead
1. Check out the Christmas tree farm ahead of time.
Most farms have websites and social media pages. Some are small and only have a few fields. Some, like ours, are larger and have a wider selection of trees. Ask friends and family where they go and read reviews. See if there are coupons on their websites–we have a $5.00 one on ours!
2. Know the farm’s hours.
Storeyland is open from 9-5 daily starting the day after Thanksgiving and ending December 23. Many farms are only open until 5:00 p.m., and people often wonder why. The simple reason is that the fields aren’t lit. If the farm has several acres, chances are that there are no lights in the fields. It’s hard to pick out a tree by flashlight. It can be done–I’ve seen people do it– but I wouldn’t recommend it unless it’s absolutely necessary.
3. Learn what currency the farm takes.
Many farms take cash, checks, and credit or debit cards. Some only take cash. Storeyland customers can pay with cash, checks, and credit/debit cards for trees, stands, wreaths, and roping. However, the B &D Concession Stand and Second-Time Around Decorations (run by the concessionaires) only take cash. Coffee and hot chocolate are free, as usual–the farm provides it.
Many farms employ high school and college students. If an employee has been extra helpful, consider tipping him or her. The kids are always excited when someone tips them for helping carry their tree to a car. Tips aren’t necessary or expected, but they are appreciated.
4. Find out if Fido is welcome.
We allow families to bring their pets to our farm, but not all farms do. Dogs are welcome at Storeyland Christmas tree farm if they have current vaccinations and are on leashes. We have plenty of land, and it’s nice for the furry family members to get out. I enjoy seeing all of the beautiful dogs that visit.
5. Know your trees.
Some tree farms have set prices for their trees. Others charge by the species and by height. Storeyland’s prices are $7.00 a foot for pines, $8.00 a foot for spruces, and $9.00 a foot for firs. If you have an eight foot tree, the difference between a white pine and a Fraser fir is $16.00. Also, trees always look smaller in the field than they really are. Bringing a tape measure is always a good idea.
Here’s the quick version of the differences: Pines usually have soft, long needles. Spruces have short, sharp, prickly needles. Firs normally have short or medium soft needles. If you’re not sure, you can always ask an employee to help you out.
6. Be prepared.
Check if your farm provides saws. If not, bring your own. Storeyland does provide saws, but you are always welcome to bring your own. Bring tie-down straps and bungee cords to tie your tree to your car. We do provide string, but with larger trees, ratcheting straps are often easier and more secure. A tarp or blanket can also help keep the top of your vehicle from being scratched by the tree’s needles. Make plans for transporting your tree ahead of time if you need a tall tree and don’t own a truck. A ten-foot tree doesn’t fit well on top of a Chevy Spark.
Second: Dress for Success
7. Dress for the weather.
Check the forecast, and then check it again. Make sure that you’re actually looking at the location of the farm. Many of our customers come from the Cleveland and Pittsburgh areas and drive an hour and a half or more to our farm. The weather can be drastically different by the time they get here.
8. Err on the side of caution.
It’s better to have too many layers than not enough. An extra pair of mittens for your little one who has lost one of hers can be a lifesaver. And, don’t forget the thermal underwear and hats! Wind chills can be brutal. If your child has snow pants, bring them. Wear snow pants if the forecast is 20 degrees. If you have Carhartt-type clothing, use it.
9. Don’t wear fancy footwear.
Wear boots. I have seriously seen people come to cut down Christmas trees wearing high heels and flip flops. Just don’t. Farms are rough and often muddy. Wear sturdy shoes. I prefer my insulated Muck boots.
10. Wear clothes that can get dirty.
Grass. Snow. Mud. To cut a Christmas tree, most people kneel or lie on the ground. At a minimum, the knees in your jeans will get dirty. Your six-year-old could trip and fall in the mud or snow. The ground in Northeast Ohio isn’t frozen yet; mud is a real possibility. If you want to stay as clean as possible, think about bringing a small tarp, piece of plastic, or even a garbage bag to kneel or lie on while cutting your tree.
Also, watch where you are walking and look out for stumps and holes. A Christmas tree farm is a working farm, just like any other. We dig trees, and while we try to fill as many holes as possible, sometimes there are some that we just haven’t gotten to yet. And stumps? This time of year, with people cutting trees daily, there are tons of stumps!
Third: Have fun!
11. Enjoy your day in the country
Create new traditions at the Christmas tree farm. Hold a tailgate party with your friends and family. Take pictures and share them with us. We love to see families having fun on our farm. It’s a beautiful piece of property and we enjoy sharing it with others.
12. Share!
When you find a tree farm that suits you, talk about it. Most tree farms are family owned and operated – they don’t have large advertising budgets and rely on word of mouth to attract new customers.
Final Thoughts
Storeyland Christmas Tree Farm is located at 5148 State Route 7, in Burghill, Ohio. It’s a family-run farm that is celebrating its 64th year of selling Christmas trees. Visit the Storeyland website at https://www.storeyland.com and like them on Facebook.
Come on out and visit me at the wreath table. Make sure to say hello!
Click here to see a video of our farm. We’ve been featured in several publications, including The Best Local Christmas Tree Farms.
And, find out more about wreath making in this blog post.
Thanks! These are well-thought & important point. I love the idea to take my doggy along.
We chopped our own tree down just once and I don’t feel drawn to doing it again! Always makes for great photo ops though!
Thank you for this post, I really want to visit a Christmas tree farm but my Dad doesn’t like real trees. I really want to just go for a walk around and take some instagrams haha
this is soooo cool !! you end up spending a great day around the trees and with your family !! and learning a loT , great tradition
Wish I read this before! The tree farm is about 5 minutes from our house and we get our real tree since I came here in the US. Very helpful tips!
I haven’t done a real tree for Christmas for some time. If I do one this year, I will follow the tips you are sharing with us. You see, in my culture, we used to decorate a miniature boat instead.
I have never been to a Christmas Tree farm and didn’t have any idea that there are farms for Christmas trees! Beautiful post , enjoyed reading!
It’s good to try new things. I will try the real Christmas tree this year.
Brings back memories for me of picking out our Christmas tree with my dad:) We never actually went right to the farm, but there was a farmer who came to our town and set up his trees for the season. There is NOTHING like that beautiful Christmas smell:)
I have a fake tree and I don’t even put it up every year. I never thought about going to an actual farm to get one either. When I did put up a real tree, I always went to one of those stands in a grocery store parking lot that pop up right after Thanksgiving. My concern has always been my cat and eating the needles. Are there any kind of trees cats don’t like? Or any that are safe/unsafe for them? I’d love to learn more about what to look for and what to avoid.
Pets would have to ingest A LOT of needles to have a reaction, so Christmas trees are not usually a problem.
Great tips! My husband and I have never done a real tree at Christmas. I told him we should consider trying it once because the idea of the pine smell at Christmas sounds divine. I’ll need to employ this post for when we do this! Thanks!
I’ve never gone Christmas tree shopping, but I was planning on maybe trying it next year and these are amazing tips! I didn’t even think of some of them lol
I am doing this next year!
Such a great post! When I was little, my dad used to take us to a Christmas tree farn every year and it is still some of my favourite childhood memories! That’s so neat that you’ve got so much experience working at a place like this! Now a days I usually just use a fake tree but your post has inspired me to start thinking about finding a local Christmas tree farm in my area next year!
These are great tips! One of my favorite childhood memories is going with my dad and sister and hiking through the snow to find the perfect Blue Spruce Christmas tree! I’m also pretty sure that your farm was the one we went to 🙂 Right now we have artificial trees, but once my son is old enough to enjoy the tradition, I can’t wait to make it a family tradition to start getting a real tree!
I don’t think I’ve ever gone hunting for a Christmas tree before! It sounds like a fun adventure, and next year I might have to go to a tree farm just to have that experience. I’ll be sure to keep in mind all your tips!!
Great tips on a subject I had no idea about. Good to learn about Christmas tree farms.
That must be a happy place to work before Christmas. I imagine everyone being excited about buying their tree. We just have an artificial tree, but there’s nothing to beat the smell of a real tree in the house at Christmas. You’ve given great tips here.
My family has never in my lifetime had a real tree and every year I say let’s get one this year and we don’t. Part of it for me is the laziness of decorating. The artificial tress are all pre-lit now so its super easy. There is something special about seeing a beautiful live tree and smelling it that makes the season that much nicer. Maybe this year! Fingers crossed.
Great tips! It is a our family tradition to go to the tree farm every Christmas. I think everyone should do it at least once.
WOW this seems like a fun traditional thing to do with your family before Christmas 😍 I didn’t know about this before. This’s SOOO helpful! I need to tell my family about this place! Thanks 🙂💞
Do you and your family sometimes get together and make family ornaments?
We do! When the kids were little, we did a different ornament every year. As they got older, we made ornaments for Operation Evergreen instead. I can’t wait until the grandbabies are old enough to start making ornaments with us.
Awesome tips! Thanks for sharing! I didn’t know that most of websites has coupon. We usually buy 7 feet tall, for about $60
My family has always cut down our own Christmas tree, its my favorite part of Christmas because we get to spend a whole day getting the tree and decorating it!
This is really useful! I will have to see if my family and I could get a tree from there next year. They seem like really good trees for Christmas.
If my mom and dad ever buy a real tree I will make sure we go here!!!!
Wow, this was really cool. My family and I usually go to Manner’s tree farm because it’s about five minutes away. Maybe my family can go here next year!
I think I’ve been to this farm before.
We always get real trees for Christmas, it is such a fun time and my family and I love it.
I never knew that so much went into a Christmas tree farm
So many great tips! We recently visited a Christmas tree farm(and they actually shot scenes from Stranger Things there!) We had so much fun, and we are definitely going to make it a tradition 😀
My best tip for cutting down a Christmas tree is we don’t really go and cut down our Christmas tree what I would do is bring your own saw just in case they don’t have a enough saws like if they have a lot of people they might not have enough saws.
ive always used a fake tree so i don’t know much of how to cut down a tree
Thats really cool that you design this stuff i think its a fun project.
My favorite part about cutting down a christmas tree, is being with family, drinking hot coco. I also like cutting down a christmas tree is that the smell and the fun of watering it and more.
One tip is make sure there is extra supplies like cords rope ect
My best tip to cutting down a tree is to put the sled, “if you use one” put it under the tree and push the tree when it’s falling down push it on the sled.
It’s always a good idea to have your measurements before you pick the tree out. So you can pick out the perfect tree for your house.
My tip would be to wear saftey goggles just incase you get something in your eye !!
My tip for cutting down a tree is stand on the opposite side you are cutting on so it does not fall on you.
This was very helpful, I can tell my family about this sometime
My first tip would be to when your cutting the tree down depending on the needles to were very strong gloves. and once you get the tree where you want it when you put it in the stand take out the major knots.
Make sure the tree is in a safe enviroment so that when it falls where you want it to, it doesn’t hurt anyone/anything and it doesn’t get hurt as well.
Do you always use a real Christmas tree for Christmas?
She does, usually two – a big pretty one in the living room and a Charlie Brown one in the kitchen, with dried fruit and cinnamon applesauce ornaments.
What is your favorite type of tree?
I love the the smell of a blue spruce, but we usually get a Fraser fir for the longer needle retention and softer branches.
What a fun day picking out your tree. I love visiting a tree farm we have one right up the road from us too.
These are such awesome tips! I’ve never been to the Christmas tree Farm but I know the next time I get a chance to go I will definitely be prepared. Thank you for sharing this useful post.
#4 is my favorite – find out if Fido is welcome! Haha! I have 2 dogs and love taking them out whenever I can. I have an artificial tree but this makes me want to go out next year and get a real one! Thanks for the tips!
This is such a fun guide! Who knew there was so much to prep and plan for when you pick a real tree!
Awesome tips! I love all the pictures, especially the one in the sleigh. Most of these can be applied to visits at any farm.
I love this! I think my children would love the experience, or at least my eldest of 3 years. 🙂
This is so much fun! I haven’t cut a Christmas tree since I was a little girl. Maybe now that I’m a mom I can take my girls out one day and cut down a Christmas Tree.
Such a cute tradition! I wish my family went to Christmas tree farms every year.
Great things to think about. Some of these things have definitely caught me by surprise before. Thanks for explaining.
Great tips! My family always had a fake tree growing up but I love the idea of getting a real one. And even better if you can go out to the farm and cut it down yourself. I would have never thought to check online for a coupon or bring my own saw – super helpful! Have a Merry Christmas!
https://teaspoonofadventure.com