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With Thanksgiving over, Christmas Tree Farms are bustling

“So if they’re leaving with them that day they will mark the tree to reserve it temporarily while they come get us and then we’ll come process it and cut it down”, Thomley said. Foote says the best part of the business is seeing the kids and families that come back every year.

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“A tree together. We agreed on it. We visualized it in the space that it’s going, with all the presents underneath it. And yeah, I think it was a success”, said Matthew Shephard. “It marks the beginning of our holidays”.

Look for tree farms and lots opening this Friday, the day after Thanksgiving.

Memories are made when choosing the ideal tree with your family. “And the aroma of a real tree is great”, he said.

“That’s 20 years we’ve been coming here”, Jennifer Bunstine said.

Three types of Christmas trees will fill the lot, including white pines, balsam firs and what Paulson refers to “the cadillac” of trees – the Fraiser Fir. “It’s just our tradition”.

Ergle Christmas Tree Farm stays open until right before Christmas. FedEx delivers the trees to more than 60 military bases in the US and overseas for free. With 65 acres planted and six tree varieties, there are options. The farm grows Virginia Pine and Leyland Cypress trees but also has precut Fraser fir trees from North Carolina. Put the tree stand at least 3 feet away from heat sources, including vents and lights. Wiggins said each tree at his farm is marked with a price tag.

“This is my 47th year here”, said Bill Weston who runs Weston’s Christmas Trees behind the International Beverage store on Cascade Road in Cascade Township. “There wasn’t a lot of tree damage this year”. Bauer said past year the Fundraising Forest raised around $1,000 for about 15 nonprofits. “It’s like a reunion in ways”.

Do a needle check to see how many fall off when the tree is shaken, or when you handle the branches to make sure it’s not already too dry.

The Carsons are one of those families, receiving a tree in 2010 while Joseph worked in the National Guard.

Some of them even got trees themselves when they were deployed.

“I love this new site so much more”, said Peter Paulson, director of Lakes Area Young Life.

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Over the years, he’s taken his children and now takes his grandchildren.

More than 60 volunteers gathered at the Wahmhoff Farms Nursery in Gobles Monday Nov. 30 2015 to load donated trees onto Fed Ex trucks for the 2015 Christmas seasons