After spending two Christmases in Oregon, experiencing snow, tree farms, and a real need for boots, scarves, jackets and everything cozy, I couldn’t just settle for a Home Depot Christmas this year. I had heard rumors of a cute little tree farm just 30 minutes away in Atascadero, that served hot cider, popcorn, roasted chestnuts, and featured acres of happily planted trees to mosey through, and was really hoping to make this a new California tradition. Clearly this sounded much more ideal after the festive experiences I had the privilege of experiencing the past two years, but I also heard that the prices were steep considering they’re aren’t many Christmas tree farms in our neck of the woods (pun intended - obviously!). After finding out just how pricey the trees were, I decided I better promise David we would go just for the experience and hit up Home Depot afterward for the actual purchasing of a tree. I had also read though, that Hidden Springs had a small selection of “misfit” trees that were priced lower for their imperfections. I couldn’t help but secretly hope to find the perfect discount tree.
We walked all over the property listening to Christmas music and stuffing our faces with popcorn - with the majority being consumed by Gideon. The trees were beautiful, but definitely way out of our price range. I’d be lying if I didn’t say there was a moment where I kind of begged David to let us splurge this year, saying that “at least this was a better place for our money to go” (which I totally meant and still stand by) but in the end I just couldn’t justify spending $80 plus on a tree that would end up in the green waste bin in a month.
We were just about to leave when I stumbled upon a little row of misfits and there it was, our perfect Charlie Brown Christmas tree. And the best part is we SAVED money buying there! Our little imperfect/perfect tree was only fifteen dollars! Needless to say, we all went home extremely happy.
We will definitely be returning to Hidden Springs Christmas Tree Farm next year for another California Christmas.
Happy Tree Hunting!
