Like most families, we have begun to prepare for Christmas soon after Thanksgiving: digging up our decorations, singing holiday songs and finding the perfect Christmas tree. This year, we decided to be a little adventurous by picking out and cutting our own Christmas tree!
We spent a wonderful Sunday at the Hidden Pond Christmas Tree Farm, about a hour's drive from Old Tappan. The farm provided a warm and inviting farm experience. After selecting our saw and grabbing a tree tag, we waited our turn for the hayride by sitting around a bonfire toasting marshmallows and taking pictures of the scenery. The short hayride took us across the middle of farm, where we were left to our own devices in selecting and cutting the tree of our choice.
With many beautiful trees to choose from, my husband and I spent a good 15 to 20 minutes walking while my son happily ran around touching each and every branch, rock and leaf he saw. When we spotted the perfect tree, my husband eagerly dropped to the ground and starting sawing away. And in less than 10 minutes, the tree went crashing down!
If you're not afraid to get your hands dirty when finding your Christmas tree, the Hidden Pond Christmas Tree farm is a great place to take the kids! In addition to the hayrides, hot chocolate and coffee, and literally garbage cans full of marshmallows that you can toast over bonfires (all free!), the farm had very friendly staff who bring the trees down to the main parking area, net the tree and string it on top of your car. It was our first experience choosing and cutting our tree, and we'll be back again next year!
Located in Mendham, New Jersey, the 50-acre Hidden Pond Christmas Tree farm has been owned and operated by the Nicholson Family for over 10 years, and it recently won the 2009 Grand Champion Christmas Tree contest for its best-in-class spurce tree. The farm grows Norway spruce (like the Rockefeller tree) and Colorado Blue spruce trees without the use of chemicals or pesticides, which was good for our little one who loves to get his hands on everything. Pre-cut trees (Frasier and Douglas Fir) are also available but are not organic. Trees are reasonably priced too: $50 for 4 to 6 foot trees; $65 for 5 to 8 foot trees; $95 for 9 to 12 foot trees. The farm is open Tuesdays through Sundays from 9AM to 5PM and is closed on Mondays. I would recommend going during the weekday if you can, or getting there early on weekends. We arrived around noon and a line to enter the parking lot was just starting; by the time we left at 2:30PM, there were at least 10-12 cars waiting to enter the farm. For more information, call 973-865-6362 or visit their website: http://www.hiddenpondtreefarm.com.
There are a number of other Choose-And-Cut Tree farms in New Jersey, unfortunately, none in Bergen County. For a listing, click here. Happy Cutting!
