One of the things NYCity Mama discovered while living in Wisconsin was the joy of visiting Christmas Tree farms and picking out her favorite tree and then having her oldest son and husband cut it down and carry it away.  She loved the personal experience of just walking around among all those pine trees and really getting excited about “that special one”.

She also enjoyed taking pictures with Santa and Mrs. Claus, and buying ornaments and candy from the ever-present gift shop.  She couldn’t wait for her kids to experience that as well.

This being their first year back in New York City, she decided to bypass all the trees parked on the sidewalks two blocks from her building and began searching for Christmas Tree Farms in New York.  Her search led her to the Christmas Tree Farmers Association of New York where she typed in her zip code and it gave her a list of the closest tree farms.  Though she didn’t expect the drive to be a short one, she also didn’t expect and was disappointed to see how short the list was.  And impatient Mama was also sad to realize that only one of the few listed where already selling trees, the others would require her to wait another week or two, which didn’t work for this “always in a hurry” New Yorker.

So, they decided on Carter Christmas Tree Farm in Suffolk County.  They packed up the kids, some drinks, snacks, and several DVDs, and ventured an hour and a half away from the city in search of the perfect tree.  Fortunately, she has no nightmare tales of crying babies, annoyed pre-teens, or sudden urges to stop at a public restroom.  This was an easy drive. Maybe it was the DVD selection or the snacks or the views of tree lined highways and suburban neighborhoods, the kind of areas that make them forget why they love the city so much.  After driving through some winding roads, past pretty houses, and quiet streets, they found the farm.  She was immediately excited.  It had that “country feel” she was longing for, and a quaint gift shop right next door!  

But, she soon realized that they may have arrived too early.  Though it was the Friday after Thanksgiving, there was no Santa Claus to greet them, no cheerful holiday music to get them in the spirit, no bells ringing…and sadly, though no fault of anyone’s, no snow to hide the lack of luster.

The Carter’s did have a beautifully arranged tree in the barn where they had set up their register (cash or checks only), and had set aside some apple cider, which they were selling at $1.00 for a plastic cup’s worth. The only person in Mama’s group who would have enjoyed the cider was her husband, and even he wasn’t too amused.

Nevertheless, they didn’t let themselves get discouraged and ventured into the field of pines in search of our tree.  The boys were super excited, especially the younger ones as they zigged  zagged through the rows and rows of trees, searching for the one that would capture their hearts.  The prices were much less than the equivalent on the sidewalks of the city, but considering the gas they had just spent to get there, it pretty much about averaged the same.

It wasn’t long before they found their tree.  A nice, tall, full, proud tree with soft needles and strong branches.  She was amazed at how inexpensive it was!! ($52). Her 11 year old cut the first half, and her husband finished it off.  Her 2 year old chanted “Go Daddy!  Go Daddy!” as her husband carried the tree away (no assistance to do so was offered from the farm workers).

After paying for their tree, Mama’s husband was given material to tie the tree up onto the hood of their van (again, without any assistance), while she walked into the gift shop for goodies.

There she found no ornaments, or holiday decorations, but rather general little gift shop standards, homemade taffy,  and chocolate goodies, as well as other varieties of sweets and candies.  Half-heartedly, she bought some chocolate and returned to her husband at the car. 

They stopped at a diner, where they were guided to sit all the way at the back of the place.  As they walked past the sitting diners, Mama’s husband overheard an older man say, “Yeah!  Keep moving!”  Her husband didn’t mention this to her till much later, which is always a good thing, because she would’ve stopped dead in her tracks and confronted the man and possibly ruined the whole trip.  It was obvious that this over priced diner (where the food was not very good by the way), was not very family friendly (at least she hope that’s what it was), so they were satisfied with their previously made decision to not head back to this neck of the woods again.  And it was a good reminder of why they love the city so much!

All in all, it was a fun experience. Visiting “the country” and cutting down their tree.  It looks beautiful there in their small NYC living room, and NYCity Mama does consider it to be perfect.  The kids were still talking about the experience  in the car, until sleep overcame them the rest of the way home.  Mama thinks though that next year she might wait the extra week, and maybe visit some other farms, like the ones she saw listed in upstate NY on a “Pick Your Own Tree” website.

After the experience of cutting their own tree at tree farms,she doesn’t think she could easily ever go back to just walking down the block and picking out our tree from the Canadians, even though they are often super nice and the alternative requires a journey much longer and further away.  But she does hope to find a farm where Santa and Mrs. Claus are waiting to greet them, where someone will offer to help them carry and tie their tree to the hood of our car (hey, they are still city folk after all!) and where they’ll find a really nice gift shop with real Christmas ornaments. And maybe, just maybe, if she is really, really lucky, they’ll be some beautiful, white, frosty snow for sleigh rides.