By Renee Wood
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas and one of the first things you need for that to happen is to put up the Christmas tree.
Thankfully the region is home to real Christmas tree producers, with Yering Christmas Tree Farm already welcoming many families in to find their perfect tree.
This will be the third year selling trees for Simon and Helen Steer, who planted their first set of 2000 seedlings in 2016.
Helen said it’s about creating an experience with loved ones that makes it all worth while.
“It’s the best job to have because you see people at their best and their happiest – they want to be here and they are doing something with the people that they love, and creating traditions and memories,” Helen said.
The adventure of selecting a real Christmas tree has long been a tradition for many families, but the Steers have noticed the interest in a fresh pine for the holidays is growing.
They believe around 80 per cent of their customers are purchasing a real tree for the first time.
“You can tell the new people who’re getting their first Christmas tree because they need a stand, and the amount of stands we’re selling this year is incredible,” Simon said.
Some families signed up for pre-selection to choose their trees in November, but there are still plenty of prime pines waiting to be chosen.
“It’s all about the lead up to Christmas, the excitement of putting the tree up, the excitement of putting the presents out. It’s the smell of fresh pine – it’s almost that crescendo of getting excited,” Helen said.
Last year the farm sold out of its mature trees for the season and they expect this year will be the same.
“Last year the driveway was full and people were guarding their trees waiting for us to come over,” Simon said.
The Steers said the best tips for choosing a tree are; know your ceiling height, how much car space you have, looking for a good tree topper point and its northern side will always look the best.
The trees are harvested around 4 years and 8 months old and can range between just under 1.7m to over 2.2m.
“Not everyone tree out there looks the same,” Simon said.
“They’re like people, they come in all shapes and sizes,” Helen said.
Two ‘reindeers’ also live on the farm, with Tillie and Dottie, hand reared red deer, another drawcard for families.
“We give people feed or carrots and they can wander up and pat them through the fence and have photos taken,” Helen said.
The farm will be open until the mature trees are all gone, with sales expected to slow down around December 17.
