Keeping your Christmas tree farm fresh

Once you’ve selected your farm fresh Christmas tree from a New Hampshire or Vermont Christmas tree farm, there are a few things you can do to keep it fresh and fragrant through the holidays. When a Christmas tree is cut, more than half its weight is water, so much of keeping your tree happy involves making sure it’s able to take in the water it needs. Here are some tips from for keeping your Christmas tree farm fresh!

    * Before you set your tree up, cut the bottom ½-inch from the trunk. Then place your Christmas tree in water.

    * Make sure your tree stand is the right size for your tree – and that the reservoir holds plenty of water. Christmas tree stands should provide a quart of water per inch of stem diameter.

    * Check the water level regularly to ensure the base of the tree is submerged.

    * Keep your tree away from heat sources like fireplaces and radiators to prevent excessive drying.

    * Use Christmas tree lights that produce only low heat to prevent drying. Lights should be inspected prior to use and replaced if they are worn. And they should always be turned off when you’re leaving the house or going to bed!

    * When you’re ready to bid adieu to your Christmas tree after the holidays, check with your local transfer station on recycling options. Christmas trees should never be burned in a wood stove or fireplace, as they create creosote and can lead to a chimney fire.

For more tips on keeping your tree farm fresh, check out the National Christmas Tree Association’s tree care page. 

From our farms to your home, we wish you a very Merry Christmas!

Exploring the Winter Wonderland of NH-VT Christmas tree farms

With snowy fields, frosted mountains and Christmas decorations twinkling from the windows, it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas in New Hampshire and Vermont. And there’s still time to find the perfect Christmas tree at a New Hampshire or Vermont Christmas tree farm! 

If you haven’t had the chance to visit your favorite Christmas tree farm yet, don’t fret – many of our farms are open right through Christmas Eve! Some even offer overnight deals in collaboration with area inns and hotels – so you can come for the day, or for the weekend!

With row upon row of beautifully shaped, carefully tended Christmas trees lining the fields, shops featuring handmade wreaths and unique holiday gifts and decorations, and plenty of festive activities, our Christmas tree farms offer up plenty of Christmas spirit.

To find the right Christmas tree farm in New Hampshire or Vermont for you and your family to visit this season, and to check hours of operation, we invite you to check out our farms map.

Merry Christmas to all!

May all your Christmases be white – and GREEN!

We know it’s common to dream of a white Christmas, but our New Hampshire-Vermont Christmas tree growers offer the following eco tips to help you also make your holidays GREEN:

   * If you’re reading this, you’ve probably already taken the first step toward an environmentally friendly holiday by selecting a real, farm fresh Christmas tree. If you’d like to read about the benefits of a real tree (and the dangerous pitfalls of artificial trees), we encourage you to check out this link from the National Christmas Tree Association. 

   * Using homemade ornaments is another fun and festive green holiday tradition. Cut paper snowflakes from colorful recycled paper, use craft paint and festive ribbon to decorate pinecones, string popcorn and cranberries and dried apples into garlands, tie sweet-smelling sticks of cinnamon with holiday ribbon to make pretty ornaments, save old Christmas cards to cut into shapes for tree ornaments or gift tags…. The possibilities are endless!

   * If it’s time to replace your Christmas tree lights, look for LED strands. They use up to 90 percent less energy and last up to a decade!

   * After the holidays, check with your local transfer station or a New Hampshire or Vermont Christmas tree farm to find out if there are Christmas tree recycling programs in your area. Recycled Christmas trees are put to use in a variety of ways, from helping to rebuild coastline and restoring sand dunes to improving fishing areas in New England and providing wildlife habitat. Visit the National Christmas Tree Association website to learn more about how recycled Christmas trees help the environment.

   * Trees may also be composted or chipped for mulch. Evergreen trees should NOT be burned in the woodstove or fireplace, as they may contribute to creosote buildup and increase the risk of a chimney fire.

May your days be merry and bright, and may all your Christmases be white… and green!

Tips for choosing the perfect Christmas Tree

The centerpiece of holiday decorations is, of course, the Christmas tree. To ensure that you find that perfect farm fresh tree this season, our New Hampshire-Vermont Christmas tree growers offer these tips:

*  Determine how tall and how wide you want your Christmas tree to be before you visit your favorite New Hampshire-Vermont Christmas tree farm. It’s often hard to picture the room you’ll place your Christmas tree when you’re in a field surrounded by beautiful firs.

*  Once you’re at the farm – either in the field or at the retail lot – make sure you measure your selected tree to ensure it is the size you want. (This may sound simple, but many a tree trimmer has had to lop off a chunk of tree top to make a Christmas tree fit in the living room!)

*  New Hampshire-Vermont Christmas tree farmers grow a variety of tree types, from the most common Balsam and Fraser firs to the more unusual Korean and Canaan firs and other species. Different types of trees have different qualities, so check with the staff at the Christmas tree farm, or visit the National Christmas Tree Association website http://www.christmastree.org/types.cfm before you go, to find out which tree type is best for you.

*  To check the freshness of a tree from a retail lot, run a branch through your enclosed hand – the needles should not come off easily. Bend the outer branches – they should be pliable. If they are brittle and snap easily, the tree is too dry.

*  Involve the whole family in selecting your tree. Many of our farms offer festive activities, so choosing a Christmas tree can become a fun-filled family activity!

For more tips on selecting the Christmas tree that will be right for you, check out these guidelines from the National Christmas Tree Association.

Happy Holidays!

Visit a Christmas Tree Farm and Get Festive!

Visiting a Christmas tree farm to find the perfect tree is a holiday tradition for many folks. Several of our New Hampshire and Vermont Christmas tree farms offer craft fairs, caroling, hot cocoa, and other special touches to make the process of selecting a Christmas tree a festive and fun event.

We invite you to peruse our list of NH-VT Christmas Tree farms to find the one most to your liking… whether you prefer to wander through neat rows of snow-covered fir trees to find your Christmas tree or select a Christmas tree from our farms’ on-site retail lots.

Some farms also offer Christmas tree packages, where you’ll receive a discounted stay at a local inn or hotel when you also purchase a farm fresh tree from one of our growers. Whether you’re looking for a romantic getaway at a quaint New England inn or a family outing at a larger hotel, our holiday vacation packages are a wonderful way to get into the Christmas spirit.

Happy Christmas tree hunting… and many happy returns!