LEXINGTON, S.C. (WIS) – Many families in the Midlands like to use the day after Thanksgiving to pick out the right Christmas tree. Rather than going to a store, some families would rather pick the tree straight from the farm.

“It’s a good day to get out and spend some good family time together with a tradition that our kids will hopefully remember when they grow up,” Stacey Gregory said.

Many families like the Gregory’s have made it an annual tradition to pick out a tree and cut it down together. Josh has been doing this with his wife, Stacey, since they’ve been married, and have been cutting down their tree together for the last 16 years.

They’ve kept the tradition going with the kids and have enjoyed picking their tree at Drafts Tree Farm for the last five years.

“I feel like it kicks off the Christmas season for us,” Josh said, adding, “Thanksgiving officially ended yesterday. (Today,) we listened to Christmas music on the way over, (and) now we cut down the tree.”

Coming out to a farm, picking out a tree, and cutting it down yourself has a lot of benefits in addition to supporting local farmers. On top of bringing the smell of pine into the house, you know the tree is fresh.

A dry tree can create a fire hazard in the house if left near a heater or fireplace. Farmer David Drafts works all year long to keep his trees in tip-top shape.

“I trim trees twice a year, I fertilize them, I cut the grass around them, I do some pesticides, thank kind of stuff.” Drafts said, adding, “Fire ants are a problem; I continually watch out for them, but it’s fun.”

Drafts says on average he’ll sell about 300 trees before Christmas.

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Source: wistv.com