Where to Cut Your Own Christmas Tree in New Jersey

I'm still not sure how our marriage survived this adventure

There are two types of Christmas tree people: those who prefer to buy at garden centers and local stands, and those who like the adventure of cutting their own.

If you are a "cut-your-own" type of person, or think you might be if given a saw and permission, here are the tried and true places in New Jersey where you can release your inner-yuletide lumberjack. 

Rest assured. Almost all cut-your-own Christmas tree farms will cut them for you. Advice: bring gardening gloves to wear because the needles will pinch, and remember that most farms accept cash only. 

Dixiedale Farms: Family owned and operated since 1911, Dixiedale farms is a short ride from Bergen County. Dixiedale never disappoints. The town of Chester is also a great place to grab a bite to eat or a cup of hot chocolate. Open Saturday & Sunday 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. 

Dixiedale Farms is located at 347 Hillside Ave & River Road, Chatham, NJ

Hidden Pond Tree Farm: Hidden Pond Tree Farm makes cutting your own tree a family even you'll remember forever. Aside from roaming the farm looking for the perfect tree, they offer free hot chocolate and marshmallows that the children can roast over an open fire. There's nothing like watching the sun set while roasting marshmallows. Open daily (except Mondays) 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

Hidden Pond Tree Farm is located at 4 West Field Road, Mendham, NJ 

The Village Tree Farm: Open weekends. To make the day even more fun for the kids The Village Farm is offering hay rides pulled by an antique tractor, cookies, candy canes and while supplies last a free coloring book! This year they will also be offering photography service where your pets and children can have their picture taken with two of Santa's Reindeer! 

The Village Tree Farm is located at 8 Meyersville Road, Green Village, NJ

Shale Hill Christmas Tree Farm: Open weekends through Christmas from 9:30 a.m. to dark. All trees are $75 plus tax--cash or check only. Cut Your Own Pines, Spruces and Firs, NJ State Fair Award Winning Trees. Adorable farm animals, tasty refreshments, the “REAL” Santa Claus. Christmas movies in the hayloft! 

Shale Hill Christmas Tree Farm, 98 Pond School Road, Sussex, NJ

Plut’s Christmas Tree Farm: Family-owned and operated since 2000, Plut’s is open Wednesday and Thursday 10 a.m.–9 p.m., Friday and Saturday 9 a.m.–9 p.m., and Sunday 9 a.m.–6 p.m. Trees start at $35. After cutting your tree visit the gift shop.

Plut’s Christmas Tree Farm, Rt 31, Washington, NJ (2-1/2 miles south of the intersection of Routes 57 and 31)

Wyckoff’s Tree Farm: Family owned since 1839, Wyckoff’s Tree Farm has been featured in the NY Times. Open daily 8 a.m.–4:30 p.m. You will find an ample supply of both cut-your-own and fresh cut trees available. Wyckoff’s Farm starts the season with approximately 5,000 trees available including: Douglas Fir, Fraser Fir, Blue Spruce, Norway Spruce & Concolor Fir. Wyckoff’s also has a gift shop that features wreathes and ornaments. 

Wyckoff’s Tree Farm, 249 Country Road, Belvidere, NJ

Jolly Holly Christmas Tree Farm: All trees $48 no matter what size. Open weekends through December 18^th 11 a.m.–4 p.m. Santa comes to visit!

Jolly Holly Christmas Tree Farm, 56 Maple Lane, Blairstown, NJ

Stonerow Tree Farm: All trees $50. Open weekends through December 11^th. Stonerow also has the Merry Moose Gift Shop where you can find all kinds of holiday decorations and gift ideas. 

Stonerow Tree Farm, 242 Wykertown Road, Branchville, NJ

Holiday Tree Farm: Open Friday, Saturday, and Sunday through December 17 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. All trees $61 regardless of type or size. The Christmas Shoppe offers holiday decorations, gifts, and refreshments. 

Holiday Tree Farm, 44 Augusta Hill Road, Augusta, NJ

Anne Ellen Tree Farm & Shoppe: Open daily from 9 a.m.–8 p.m. through December 23^rd. Over 100 acres of trees to choose from, farm animals, and Santa visits on the weekends! Anne Ellen Tree Farm is also an ideal place to grab a cup of hot chocolate and a cookie and have a picnic with the family. Anne Ellen’s also has a holiday shoppe that will personalize your ornaments while you wait. 

Anne Ellen Tree Farm & Shoppe, 114 Daum Road, Manalapan, NJ

Simonson Farm: Open daily through Dec. 23.M-F: 12 p.m.- 7 p.m. and weekends 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. Featured on CNBC, Simonson Farm has two fields with over 50 acres of trees to choose from. All U-Cut White Pine $10 off. Retail Lot White Pine $6/ft. Wagon rides and horse-drawn carriage rides available; barbecue sandwiches for sale on weekends. Simonson Farm has a Holiday Shoppe that features wreaths and other holiday gifts. 

Simonson Farm, 118 Dey Road, Cranbury, NJ

Cherryville Farms: Open weekends 9 a.m. to dark through Dec. 24. Cherryville Farms is a family-run farm that offers the best in cut your own trees. They also offer handmade wreaths and crafts for sale. Hot chocolate provided with a tree purchase. Cash or personal check only. 

Cherryville Farms, 352 Quakertown Road, Pittstown, NJ 

Perfect Christmas Tree Farm: Perfect Christmas Tree Farm is owned and run by John and Cynthia Curtis, the farmer and his wife. As part of the William Penn Land Grant of 1681, this historic 45-acre farm has always been a farm, preserving this special place as a working farm. You can take a hayride out to the fields or walk across the covered bridge to find the perfect tree. Watch wreaths being made and decorated in the barn and then come inside & warm up by the fire in the Gift Shop. Children find Santa’s Box – a special trunk filled with small toys for good boys and girls, irresistible. Free trees for churches. 

Perfect Christmas Tree Farm, 999 U.S. 22, Phillipsburg, NJ

Spruce Goose Farm: Open daily from 9 a.m.–5 p.m. Spruce Goose Farm is a family-owned farm. Ride the wagon into the fields to cut your tree and then visit the gift shop.

Spruce Goose Farm, 194 Bordentown-Georgetown Road(Rt 545) 
Chesterfield, NJ

The Evergreen Farm: Open weekends through Christmas 9 a.m.–5 p.m. Family-owned and operated, The Evergreen Farm has a number of different types of Christmas trees all in the 6 to 9 foot range. Cider and cookies await as you pick your perfect tree. 

The Evergreen Farm, 4 Bass Lane, Lebanon, NJ

AFFORDABLE SUMMER FUN

As we venture forth from our sweatered nests, it’s that time of year to catch up with the playground buzz. There’s a lot being talked about around the swings, but since this is a family newspaper, I’ll stick to a family topic. (Although, there’s some smoking gossip out there that screams “Mom’s Night Out!”)

Okay, back to my column. We all know that it’s really expensive to entertain kids; never more so than in today’s economy. Even a movie has become a major event now that most studios are releasing every kid-friendly flick in 3-D. Taking the family to a movie can cost close to $100, especially if you include snacks. However, here’s my biggest beef: 3-D admission includes a free pair of “Roy Orbinson glasses,” but then they have the nerve to ask theatergoers to “recycle” them into the big blue bucket upon exiting the theater so they can repackage them in time for the next showing. “Yeah, for ten bucks I’ll give them back!” (The 3-D’s to a 3-D movie are: debt, debt, debt!) 

Many people I know actually have a “family entertainment budget.” Thinking back to my childhood, my family’s entertainment budget was: “zero.” Our weekend entertainment consisted of the following choices: either help my father scrape the old paint off the house on Saturday and help him re-shingle the roof on Sunday; or, weed and rake the yard. Occasionally, my old man would throw in an oil change, or a “let’s take the motor apart to see why the ‘check engine light’ is on,” but the general theme of our family entertainment was “maintenance.” A real rare thrill was when we were thrown into the trunk of the Falcon station wagon to take a road trip to Aunt Peggy’s in Pearl River, New York. My brother and I had a ball bouncing around the trunk like a couple of spastic bobbleheads up Kinderkermack Road making faces at the bus drivers who had the misfortune of driving behind our car all the way to the New York State Line.

But I digress. I’m sure you also have fond memories of family outings that cost nothing, or close to it. Here are some ideas for a spring and summer of outings that won’t break the bank and will make for some great memories.

Minor League Baseball: We are so fortunate to be surrounded by some of the best minor league teams, so why not take advantage of it?

Staten Island Yankees: $16/ home plate; $14/reserve seats. Great all-inclusive packages available. SIY is a farm team of the NY Yankees. Stadium right near the Staten Island Ferry with a great view of Statue of Liberty. http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/index.jsp?sid=t586

Jersey Jackals: NJ Jackals had 19 players sign with Major League organizations since 2006 season. $11/box; $9 reserved. http://www.jackals.com/home.asp

Newark Bears: The Newark Bears rank 3^rd on Minor League Baseball’s top 100 Minor League Teams in history. $10/ticket; $1 discount for all military and first responders. http://www.newarkbears.com/

Brooklyn Cyclones: Farm team of the NY Mets; the stadium is right next to Coney Island Beach. Games frequently have fireworks displays. Tickets range from $8 to $16. http://brooklyncyclones.com/home/

Long Island Ducks: Part of the Atlantic League, they play in the Citibank Stadium in Central Islip. Tickets average $12. http://www.liducks.com/

Scranton Wilkes-Barre Yankees: This Yankees minor team is AAA, (the highest level of the minors) and a great place to see future Yankees players. It’s worth the 2 hour drive to Pennsylvania. Tickets are $10 to $14. http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/index.jsp?sid=t531

Membership to New York’s Wildlife Conservation Society: a $124 membership fee ($78 tax deductible) for a family of four includes a year of free admission to these five attractions: Bronx Zoo, New York Aquarium, Central Park, Prospect Park, and Queens Zoos. It also includes four free parking passes, discount cards for gift shops and restaurants, and more.   http://www.bronxzoo.org/become-a-member/family.aspx

To find more affordable fun, and have access to the “Mom to Mom Calendar of Events” that lists just about every event going on in and around Bergen County (Street Fairs, Farmers’ Markets, Craft Fairs, Flea Markets, Outdoor Summer Movies and Concerts, Carnivals, and more!) become a fan of “BERGEN COUNTY MOM TO MOM” on FACEBOOK. It’s a page I created to connect you with everything that’s going on—for free! Check it out.

CITY ISLAND, THE BRONX

People often stop to ask me, “How do you find the places you write about?” Believe it or not, most times I drive aimlessly around Bergen County, Hudson County, New York, wherever, in search of discovering something new and fun. If you’re ever behind a slow moving white Dodge Caravan and want to scream, “Hey lady, what’re you sightseeing???” I can almost guarantee it’s probably me.

Sometimes during the course of conversation someone will plant the seed for a column, like my friend Laura’s husband who originally hails from New York and told me at a 4th of July party, “I can’t find a decent jelly donut in New Jersey!” P.S.: Since his comment, I’ve eaten more jelly donuts than I can tell you in search of that perfectly constructed jelly donut that we all remember eating when we were young. I’m still doing research so stay tuned for that column.

I am continually amazed when in my wanderings I find a new great place because it serves to remind me that you don’t need to venture far from home to find great out-of-the-ordinary places to visit. Recently my family and I decided to take a ride to the historic seafaring village of City Island which is an island right off of mainland Bronx; it’s surrounded by the Long Island Sound and the Eastchester Bay. If you’ve never been to City Island you must, must, must go. It’s less than 20 miles from the GW Bridge and feels like you’ve entered a small New England whaling village.

Admittedly, Friday and Saturdays during the summer brings a lot of traffic to the island, but if you can manage to escape on a weekday, or late Sunday afternoon you won’t be disappointed. Aside from the beautiful old Victorian houses and quaint shops that populate City Island Avenue, the reason you come to City Island is for the fresh seafood. And let me tell you—you don’t have to spend a fortune to eat incredible seafood. All the restaurants are located on City Island Avenue so you don’t have to go searching.

My family’s favorite spot is at the very southern tip of the island—Johnny’s Reef Restaurant located at 2 City Island Ave. Johnny’s Reef is like being on the boardwalk down the shore. The restaurant itself is a huge open-air restaurant with many counters. One counter is dedicated to people not particularly fond of seafood—it offers hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken nuggets… The rest of the many counters are devoted entirely to seafood. Johnny’s Reef will steam or deep fry any piece of fish they have, just look for the sign above each counter to find what you want.

One counter is just for clams—a dozen clams (cherrystone or littleneck) is $10. You have to see how fast these guys shuck clams. If you like shrimp this is the place to be. A huge plate of freshly steamed shrimp in a scampi sauce is $12; an enormous container of fried shrimp is $12; the fried calamari is so fresh and delicious and only costs $10 for a humongous serving. They will also steam a whole salmon, lobster, scallops, whatever fresh fish has arrived that day and so much more. The most expensive item on the menu is $22. They also have a full bar and the drinks are reasonably priced considering you’re in New York. We went to Johhny’s Reef Restaurant with five adults and two children and ordered a few dishes so we could share. The total came to a little over $70 for seven of us and there were leftovers. There’s seating inside the restaurant, but sit outside by the water where you can watch the boats sail by.

After dinner we took the kids to “Lickety-Split” an ice cream shop on City Island Avenue. It’s housed in a small colorful playhouse and has outdoor seating.
Visit my website “Bergen County Mom to Mom” and click on “Links” to find information on other City Island restaurants.

Log onto: www.groups.yahoo.com/group/bergencountymomtomom/.