Simple Pleasures: Cutting Your Own Christmas Tree

Much like paying to pick your own apples, cutting your own Christmas tree seems kind of silly on the surface. You could always go to one of the 1,000,000 area businesses or roadside stands that sell trees and get one that is just as nice. You also wouldn't spend the next two days picking sap out of your hair.

But people react to Christmas—and by extension Christmas trees—on an emotional level, and there is something satisfying about looking through a field of trees and trying to find the perfect one for you and your family. Plus you get a little jolt of manliness out of cutting something down and dragging it back to civilization. Even if you have a little bit of help from a hay wagon.

If you've never cut your own, I went to McCurdy's Tree Farm in Dillsburg this weekend, and they make the process extremely easy and a lot of fun.

McCurdy’s is no more than fifteen minutes from Harrisburg, and has a huge selection of trees. The farm has been family-owned and operated since 1963 and is the perfect place to take the whole crew.  It’s extremely kid-friendly and dog-friendly and actually has a lot going on to keep the little ones entertained. If you don’t mind spending the afternoon getting the tree, get the kids some hot chocolate and let them play on the huge tube slides.

After you pick up a saw, you are taken out into the middle of the fields on a hay wagon. From there, you can pretty much roam as you please. The staff is quite helpful and will direct you towards the right kind of tree for your home if you ask, but if you want to go it alone, they aren’t going to bother you. McCurdy’s raises Colorado Spruces, Concolor Firs, Canaan Firs, Douglas Firs, Fraser Firs, Norway Spruces, White Spruces, White Pines and Scotch Pines and has a great selection of each type of tree. Some of them are quite pricey, but so are all Christmas trees, apparently. So is Christmas period, apparently.

After you’ve picked your tree and been heckled by your family while cutting it down, you just drag it to a pickup point where they shake out the dead needles and tie it up for you. Then you ride the wagon back, pay for your tree, get a picture taken with the 20-foot inflatable snowman, and try to secure the tree to the roof of your car.  Good times. In all seriousness, cutting your own tree can be a lot of fun. If you want more information on McCurdy’s, check out their website.

If you’re looking for other options, Circle M Ranch in Dauphin County and Rudy’s Christmas Tree Farm & Sugar Valley Nursery in Perry County also allow you to cut your own trees, but do not have quite as many types. Anyone else cut their own? Let us know.