Much to the chagrin of my husband, we have gone to the same Christmas tree lot in Charlotte for as long as we have lived here. He wants nothing more than to go to the little lot at the church across the street from us, but I prefer a large lot with a huge selection and some additional holiday decorations and festivities. And I like the tradition of going to the same place every year. I have pictures of the boys sitting on the same sleigh in the same lot for the last 7 years and it’s fun to see how much they’ve changed over the years.
But I will admit that it is still not the ideal Christmas tree shopping location. The lot takes over the farmer’s market and an adjacent parking lot and really does cover a wide area and have a great selection of all varieties and sizes of Christmas trees. It is big enough that if you wander through the middle of it to take your pictures, you’d never know you were next door to a gas station and across the street from a hospital. So we went back year after year. The kids had fun, I liked the tradition of it, and we always got good trees. Until last year that is.
Last year started out the same as every other year – we spent an hour or so there taking pictures and picking out the perfect tree. We were all happy with the one we picked. It was a good size and nicely shaped. We took it home, put it up, and decorated it. And then it died. Not after Christmas. Not three weeks after we put it up. Literally 3 DAYS after we put it up it was completely dried up and dead. By the time Christmas rolled around it was a dangerous weapon. The branches were so dry they would hurt you if you so much as brushed them when you walked by. Taking the ornaments off the tree after Christmas was a dangerous job that resulted in huge scratches on my arms and hands. It was a major disappointment.
With the disappointment of last year still fresh in my memory, this year I pondered breaking from tradition. I had always loved the idea of going to a cut-your-own tree farm in the mountains but had wanted to wait until the boys were older. I thought maybe this was the year to make the leap and started researching the options.
There are a handful of farms within an hour or hour and a half of Charlotte but I quickly learned that these were not the mountain Christmas tree farm experience I had envisioned in my head. To get the full experience, we would have to drive 2.5 to 3 hours. And then drive back 2.5 to 3 hours with a tree on top of our car. Hmm. Who’s brilliant idea was this?
So I found a compromise in the form of Cedar Lake Tree Farm in Iron Station, NC. It is less than an hour from Charlotte but still offers that true Christmas tree farm feeling. They advertised a cut-your-own tree field but the majority of their trees are trucked in from a farm further up the mountains. Fraser Firs (our favorite type of Christmas tree) only grow above 3,000 feet so cannot be grown this close to Charlotte.
I will admit that the boys started grumbling about halfway through the drive, wondering why we weren’t going to the lot 5 minutes from the house. And of course my husband would have been content to pick one up across the street. I was feeling the pressure.
As soon as we arrived at the farm, I was sure it would all work out. With its beautiful iron gates, old timey farm trucks, and vintage windmill, the place oozed with charm.
Blair and I were sold as soon as we drove on to the property. The kids took about 30 seconds more. Once they saw the alpacas, farm animals, and fire pit, they were glad we had made the ride.
And it got even better. Around the corner was a giant mountain of hay bales, complete with a slide. The boys spent tons of time climbing, jumping, and sliding on the hay bales and had a blast. We had to eventually pull them away to pick a tree.
And to satisfy my Christmas-picture-in-a-sleigh requirement, the farm had a beautiful barn with three old wooden sleighs in front of it. Santa even made an appearance! Unfortunately, despite many attempts, we never got a great picture but it was still a beautiful setup.
At some point we had to actually get a tree so after some hot chocolate and cookies, we got on task. We decided to check out the cut-your-own field. It was disappointing. I’m not even sure they can claim to have a cut-your-own field. I don’t even know what you would have cut out there but there was nothing we would have remotely considered taking home. There were several disappointed families wandering back from the field, looking like they were lost or had been cheated. But since I already knew that we really wanted a Fraser Fit and that they did not grow Fraser Firs here, it was not a big deal. We walked down there more for the curiosity than anything else. And we did get rewarded with a nice view of the farm.
After that we headed back to the lot where they were selling pre-cut trees. There were tons of them and they were being constantly replenished so the selection was great. We picked a great one. And guess what? It was probably the best looking (and smelling!) tree we’ve ever had and it lasted well past Christmas. So while Cedar Lake Tree Farm didn’t quite satisfy all the requirements of an idyllic mountain cut-your-own Christmas tree farm, it was a great compromise between a city lot and the full mountain experience. I suspect we will be back again next year.
