Tom Sawyer Christmas Tree Farm and Elf Village, Glenville, North Carolina

"The Christmas tree is a symbol of love, not money.   There's a kind of glory to them when they're all lit up that exceeds anything all the money in the world could buy." 

Andy Rooney

Now that Thanksgiving has passed, it is time to focus on Christmas, my favorite time of the year. Our daughter, Jeannine, looked up Christmas tree farms that have the kind of trees we love and found this farm with an added special bonus of an Elf Village for the children. We all couldn’t wait to pick out a Christmas tree and enjoy spending time with Santa’s elves.

We drove up the day before and spent the night in Franklin, North Carolina which is less than an hour from the tree farm and about a three and a half hour drive from Augusta. Yes, I know what you are thinking.  That is a long drive to just buy a Christmas tree, but we wanted to do something special for the kiddos and it was so worth it.

The next morning, we headed north up the road from our hotel and into the mountains. The road was a curvy mountain road with steep inclines and drops with beautiful views of the mountains and valleys. It was a little scary driving for a couple of people from south New Jersey that are used to flat land. We passed Glenville Lake, a 1450 acre beautiful lake and reservoir with turquoise water and gorgeous mountain scenery all around. Dotting the shoreline of the lake were lovely homes and most homes had boat docks. The water level was low and the many of the docks were sitting on dry land.

Tom Sawyer Christmas Tree Farm is located about 6 miles north of Cashiers, North Carolina in the town of Glenville. It is in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains and sits at the elevation of 3800 feet. The farm has 80 acres and has 3 to 12 foot Fraser Fir Christmas trees. This farm has been growing trees for 27 years. They now offer a wedding venue as well.

When we pulled into the Christmas tree farms parking lot, a parking lot attendant directed us where to park. We went over to the information counter where they explained how this tree farm worked. They gave us a tag with a number on the top and bottom half. We were told to place the top half as high as we could on the perfect Christmas tree of our choice and to keep the bottom half of the ticket so they could easily locate which tree was ours later in the day. They told us to place the measuring stick up against the tree so the workers would know which tree to cut for us.

We went out and walked the tree lot and we saw so many perfect trees. They have gorgeous trees here and you can see they put their heart into caring for every tree perfecting that special tree for everyone. We literally could have picked the first tree on the lot we saw to buy since they all seemed equally perfect. But we enjoy walking around all the trees in search of the tree that stands out to us and we say it is the one. It didn’t take long to find the perfect tree and once we set the pole up, the workers came down immediately, cut the tree, and carried it off. That made easy work for us. We didn’t have to get down on our knees to cut the tree or carry it away. It was all done for us. Jeannine and Darren also found the perfect tree to take home.

After our trees were carted off, we walked down into the Christmas store where the Christmas music serenaded us as we checked out all the unique gifts and lovely decorations for sale for Christmas. You can buy fresh garland and beautifully made fresh wreaths to adorn your home. That is also where you buy the tickets to get into the Magical Elf Village. The tickets are $15 a child but one of the ladies saw that Jeannine had eight children and cut her a break. The people were all so friendly here.

After exploring the store, we walked down the path and entered the Magical Elf Village. Our first stop was at the post office where the postmaster welcomed us all and gave each of the children a passport. She explained to them about the different stops and told them if they go to all the stops and get all the stamps on their passports, they will get a little prize at the end of their time here.

Then we met one of the Santa’s Elf’s who gave each one of the children their name for the day. You get your name by finding the first letter of your first name which gives you your elf first name. Then you pick the month you were born, and presto – your elf name is complete. What is your Christmas elf name?. How fun. The kids all laughed and enjoyed their new Christmas names and then got their passport stamped. They went by that name all day.

The uniform shop was the next stop where they each child got an Elf Smock to wear. They loved that it really put them in the Elf spirit of things and added that bit of extra fun for the day. They all danced around like elves do around Christmas. They also got their passports stamped.

From there they got to get their picture taken with their new elf outfits. They were to make a funny face and a nice smiling face. They loved the attention that the senior elves gave to them at that area and they all hammed it up. Then they got a letter to write to Santa telling him what they wanted for Christmas and got to mail it by placing their letters in the Santa Express mailbox. They were so excited about sending their letters to Santa knowing Christmas is getting close.

The next building we came to was Santa’s room.  The children could hardly contain their excitement about seeing that special man of the day. We walked into the room and there sat Santa with his twinkling eyes, red suit, and black boots, and the children got very quiet and knew to behave.

 

They lined up and took their turns each having time to sit on his lap and tell him what they wanted for Christmas. We got some great pictures of the children with the jolly ole man in red. Santa was so kind and loving to each of the children and none of the children were afraid of him. It must have been his kind cheerful spirit. They each got their passports stamped and got a candy cane to enjoy. When we were leaving, all the children turned back and yelled, “We love you, Santa.”

There was an above ground pool set up outside the building where the children visited Santa. The children could climb in and play in the man made snow. They had to take off their shoes and socks to get in. They enjoyed playing in the white stuff while squealing with delight that it was cold. That was a neat thing for the children to experience, since Georgia doesn’t offer much as far as snow is concerned.

We walked down the boardwalk path and came to wear the Elf games were set up. There was bowling, checkers, Jenga, Corn hole, and a ring toss. The children enjoyed playing all the games while the adults sat on rocking chairs watching all the fun and excitement. Before we left the play area, each child could get a marshmallow to roast over the campfire with the help of Elves, of course.

The Storytelling cottage came next and the children and a few adults went in to hear the Elf tell the story of the candy cane. The elf did a great job telling the story and kept the children interested throughout the story. The building was very quaint with colorful wrapping paper put on the walls and had little chairs set up for story time.

From there we took the path down to the craft room where each child got to make a glittered pine cone ornament to put on their tree. That building was set up beautifully with a couple tables, beautifully decorated tree, and had a loft upstairs. We felt as if we just were visiting someones home when we walked in since it was so cozy.

There was also a tiny Elf chapel to see. That was adorable.

For an additional $5, you can go on a wagon ride pulled by horses or a tractor. There was a scavenger hunt the children could be involved in also but by that time the rain was starting to come in and it was time to go.

As we were leaving the children turned in their Elf clothes and got to pick out a small toy to take with them. What a wonderful day we had here. This is what memories are made of. We recommend this place if you want to make Christmas tree shopping a special experience. It is worth the money and the drive as it is a memory that will stay with the children forever.

After we left the village, we went to pick up our tree.   What an amazing operation.  We showed our ticket and they grabbed our tree which was all bundled up and ready to go and loaded it on our car.  How easy. 

We enjoyed it and got some great pictures while we were there. Thanks for the great time. Check them out: www.tomsawyerchristmastreefarm.com. Bye for now.

“Just remember, the true spirit of Christmas lies in your heart.”

“The Polar Express”