Pictured above: Visitors to Howell Tree Farm can not only pick out a tree, but also meet Santa, grab some popcorn, peruse through the gift shop and watch the train display. By opening at 7 a.m., vehicles stretched to the highway more than a half mile away. 18 was opening day, and in typical fashion, the Howells said cars began lining the lane at 5 a.m. Another group of 10 assists Jenny in crafting special wreaths, swags and porch pots managing the gift shop tending the cash register preparing popcorn and keeping the coffee and cocoa fresh.Īpproximately 2,000 visitors will stop by the farm over the next month to pick out their cherished Christmas tree. Their sons, Charles and Daniel, lend a hand during the bustling holiday season, supported by a team of 10 to 12 helpers assisting with spring planting and November harvest. Today, Farm Bureau members Chris and Jenny are the proud owners and operators of Howell Tree Farm, which includes 40,000 trees ranging from Canaan Fir and Colorado Blue Spruce to White Pines and Scotch Pines, spread across 50 acres. “A little extra money, all the kids did the work - the planting, the mowing, weed pulling and trimming,” said Chris’ wife, Jenny. The planting of 1,000 trees during the first seven years, symbolizing each of the seven children, laid the foundation for their present-day operation.

Priority back then, the Christmas trees evolved into a labor of love, dedicated to funding the education of seven children. While growing corn and raising cattle and hogs on the 750-acre farm was the This year commemorates the 60th anniversary of when Chris’ father, Mark, planted the initial 1,000 trees on the family farm southeast of Cumming in Madison County. “We started selling trees in 1970, and I’ve been here ever since.”

“I’d carry the chain saw around for my Dad,” Chris said with a laugh. Chris Howell fondly remembers as a toddler helping on the family’s Christmas tree farm.Īt 5 years old, he would tag along as his father and workers planted, tended to or cut down the trees for customers each year.

Happy holidays christmas tree farm