Thanksgiving was a quiet event this year at our house. We had not even finished cleaning up from our Thanksgiving feast when the kids started asking about Christmas – – and more importantly, when we would be getting our tree.
I am sure other mothers can relate to the tremendous amount of “mom guilt” I’ve experienced over these past nine months. My kids’ world as they knew it was swept out from underneath them, and I refuse for this 2020 holiday season to be anything short of magical.
Let me be honest: I have never been into decorating. I always see my friends post pictures about Jack the Elf’s grand arrival, their color-coordinated stocking and trees and homemade holiday wreaths. I am always truly perplexed. Do people really enjoy this stuff? I have one silver reindeer that I put out each holiday season. It hangs out for a few months until I remember to take it down come St Patrick’s Day.
As for our yearly Christmas Tree, I normally get a tree from Whole Foods for an annual event at the Inner Harbor. Did I mention that I am an event planner? After the event concludes, I take the decorated tree and throw it in the U-Haul and then shove it through the front door of my house. I do not recommend this route. However, if you do go this route, learn from my mistake and make sure the ornaments are shatterproof.
In the past, when my kids would have playdates at their friends’ houses around the holidays, they would ask, “Why doesn’t our house look like Ms. Karen’s or Ms. Joy’s or Ms. Becky’s”? I would explain that it was because we always go to New Hampshire for the holidays and that it doesn’t make sense to decorate when we aren’t actually going to be here for Christmas.
My parents’ home in New Hampshire screams Norman Rockwell Christmas – with a stunning 12 foot Christmas tree, Byers carolers, a Dickens Village, and a train set that circles their living room. When I picture the holidays, my mom is in the kitchen wearing one of her many Christmas aprons, baking cranberry bread and Tollhouse chocolate chip cookies. It normally snows too, which makes it even more festive. Unfortunately, this year (damn you, Covid), we will not be traveling to Mima and P Jack’s house. So, I am feeling all the pressure to create “Mima’s Christmas magic” in our new home.
So, I was on a mission. I needed to find the most perfect Christmas tree that would make our first Christmas in our new home magical.
Where would I find this perfect Christmas tree? I hit Facebook feverishly searching for the “best Christmas Tree Farm near me.”
I happily discovered that there’s a place called Hoppy Endings Farm in Havre de Grace with great reviews, an abundance of trees and goats. SOLD.
We packed up the kids in my minivan and headed out. Ten minutes later, we had pulled up to a gorgeous farm, piled out of the car, and put on our masks when Dave said, “Shoot – I thought your van had racks and I didn’t bring anything to tie the tree down.” Seriously? We just loaded up four children and we may need to turn around and come back again? We decided to take our chances and headed down to the trees.
Hoppy Endings Farm is everything you want in a Christmas Tree Farm and then some. We were greeted by a friendly team member who directed us to the trees, went over pricing, and showed us where to get the greens to feed the goats. I am sure you can guess where the kids wanted to go first – the goats of course! We grabbed a giant handful of Christmas Tree greens to feed the goats. Who knew? Apparently, the farm encourages families to bring their trees back post-holidays because the goats enjoy them so much.
We honestly could have spent hours feeding the goats. They were so darn cute and very friendly, even with my spirited toddlers.
After playing with the goats, we went to the trees and settled on an 8-foot tree. It fit our “perfect” tree requirement, and luckily for us, the farm supplies twine so we didn’t have to go home empty-handed.
After we claimed our tree, we got to pick out an adorable wooden ornament that was stamped with the year. We also got our photo taken in their festive photo booth. Two out of the four kids even cooperated and smiled!
On the way out, I caught up with Samantha, one of the owners, and we chatted for a bit. It turns out that they truly fell into the Christmas Tree business. They went to close on their beautiful new home and farm and the former owners, the Wilsons, asked how they felt about selling Christmas Trees. Clearly, they had never thought about selling Christmas trees. Mr. Wilson told them that families had been coming to the farm for years and that they would most likely have people showing up on their doorstep come Thanksgiving. Best part? They only had two weeks to decide. Samantha, who is in the HR field and her husband, who works for UPS, decided to give it a shot and they are glad they did!
Samantha shared that the truly love being able to continue something that the Wilsons started so many years ago in the community. They love hearing everyone’s stories from over the years. She said it is like seeing extended family every year. This is their third season and it is going strong.
True to Havre de Grace fashion, we also ran into the family we bought our house from and Mayor Martin and his family. Oh, how we love this small town. Can we say Mayberry?
While this was our first time visiting the farm, we hope to make it a yearly tradition.
XOXO-Beth
