Anyone looking for a Christmas Tree?
Last year, we went up to Cackler Family Farms north-east of Delaware, Ohio. They provide you with a saw and a sled and you hike out to find a tree, cut it down, and drag it back. They will shake it and net it, and provide you with twine to attach it to your vehicle. According to their website, their prices are $20-$75.
I think we ended up spending around $65 after tax for one of the soft firs that we like. I don't know if it was just a busy day there, but the place was fairly crowded, and the trees seemed a bit picked over. We spent 20 minutes hiking around in the cold until we found one around 7 feet tall that looked good enough. It also took me a good 20 minutes to get the tree securely attached to the car, and even then I was too nervous to take 71 back home, and we took the back roads (23 most of the way) instead.
Cackler does have some extra kid activity stuff like a play area.
More info: http://www.cacklerfamilyfarms.com
This year (today actually) we went down to Circleville to Rhodes Farm Market. You'd think it would be further away, but from Downtown Columbus, it's the same distance (40 miles) as Cackler. We bought a few Ohio-made items at the marketplace and then followed the directions around back down a gravel road to the actual tree farm area. They provide you with a saw to go cut your own tree, or will cut it for you. The size of the place was much smaller, but the selection was awesome.
It could have just been a different experience due to a different day, but we spent 20 minutes deciding between 3 dozen trees that we liked before we picked out the best one. It was great. I cut it down and then reported back where they sent out an employee on a work cart to fetch it. They shake it and net it, and then best of all... they actually help you attach it to your car! Took them 5 minutes to do what took me 20 last year, and it was on there as solid as rock. Nice.
Their prices were in the $30-$60 range, and we took home a giant 10+ foot soft fir tree for $53.75 after tax.
http://www.rhoadsfarmmarket.com
Next year, I'm pretty sure we'll be headed back to Rhoads.
Anyone else have any favorite Christmas tree farms?




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