Don’t just get a Christmas tree. Get an experience.
This is what Eric Watne says. He’s the president of the Rhode Island Christmas Tree Growers Association and the owner of Clark’s Tree Farm in Tiverton.
Every year he has a recurrent conversation with customers. “How much are your trees?” they say. “The trees are free,” Watne says. “The memories are $45.”
You’re not just buying a tree, farmers say; you’re having a family outing. “My farm is like a park with a stream through the middle and a covered bridge,” says Ron Rossi of Rossi Tree Farm in Cranston. “If it’s a nice day, people will walk around for hours. They’ll find their tree in the first 10 minutes and then walk around 18 fields.”
In some places, such as Sweet Berry Farm in Middletown, people can have coffee and a meal, and buy baked goods, honey and jam made on the premises.
“Buying a Christmas tree on a farm is a whole experience,” says Jan Eckhart, owner of Sweet Berry Farm. “People won’t get that experience in a parking lot.”
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