- All of the ornaments on this Christmas tree here at Memorial Park were crafted by school children here in Blowing Rock.

And, you know, it is that time to get that Christmas tree, if you haven't gotten started, you had better.

And if you live in the Piedmont area, producer Rob Holliday found a family-owned farm that makes shopping for a Christmas tree part of a grand holiday experience.

[bright country music] - [Rob] Less than a mile from the waters that lure folks all summer long is a place that has its busiest season when the weather's cold.

- It's the best way to get into the Christmas spirit.

The environment, everybody's in the holiday spirit.

- We have a unique place, 'cause we also are an active farm.

We are a true, legit farm growing Christmas trees.

- [Rob] For more than three decades now, and these days with three different varieties of trees; Leland cypress's, Carolina sapphires, and Virginia pines.

- I love that we can kind of just walk around, kind of be in nature, choose our own Christmas tree.

- This one fills all the characteristics, it's got a nice tall top.

- You still get a fresh tree, you get to look around, see how it looks in the light, you know, it's freshly cut, 'cause it gets cut when you want it to be cut down.

[chainsaw buzzing] - [Rob] But if you have your heart set on the tree that fills a lot of living rooms these days, you're in luck.

- The other option, which is probably the more popular tree, is the Fraser fir, which comes from the mountains.

And these are pre-cut trees that we bring in from the North Carolina mountains, very popular, just, you know, great Christmas trees.

- [Rob] That are particular about where they can be successfully grown.

[water splashing] That's why they aren't available in the ground here like other varieties.

- It's really hard to grow a Fraser fir here just because of the heat.

They also need freeze time before they are cut.

- [Rob] But they're still widely available at Jordan Lake Farms in all shapes and sizes, six-seven included, and even taller.

- The Fraser, that's my favorite.

We usually do eight-foot Fraser trees every year.

So we don't like the fake Christmas trees, we like the real ones.

- [Rob] The real holiday greenery doesn't stop with the trees here.

- We're using materials from the trees that we bring in and wreaths that we're making from all of those materials, we bring in garland that's made in the mountains.

- We kind of stumbled upon it one year, and we really like the trees here, good selection, friendly people.

They have good service, they're really quick in getting you in and out, even if it's crowded.

- [Rob] While you certainly can find a tree and be on your way quickly at Jordan Lake Farms, this is a place designed for folks to stick around for a while.

- One of our biggest focus is to really make that experience something that is a tradition for all families.

Most people, they'll come, they'll pick out a Fraser fir, but they definitely wanna walk the farm.

- I think that's what we encourage people to do, is take your time, have some fun, take advantage of what we have.

- Part of the atmosphere of this place that makes it so special is it is a traditional farm.

So you get the atmosphere, like, you come in and it feels like a farm, you can get your hot spice cider- - Uh-huh.

- Your hot chocolate, like your donuts.

- The mini donuts have been very popular.

[oil sizzling] [bright orchestral music] We've upgraded three times as far as the capacity of the machine because we have so many donuts that we're putting out.

- So you come, pick the tree out, and then from the tree, we go and get our donuts and hot chocolate.

And then from there, we go to the gift shop and we look around.

- There's something extra special about being around all these trees, and that's why for many people, the Jordan Lake Farm has become an annual tradition.

- We've been coming here every year for about, you know, five years.

- We've been coming out for three years.

- This is our eighth year.

- About 10 years ago we were looking for a tree farm, and we found Jordan Lake Christmas Farm, and that's how we came here.

It's like an every year thing that you look forward to with your family.

- [Rob] Byron and Diana May were city folks also looking for a farm more than 30 years ago when they found their perfect spot, and when it already happened to have Christmas trees growing on it, they took up the pursuit and never looked back.

They've even started large flower growing operations during warmer months.

- We really enjoy people.

They come out and we want them to enjoy themselves, enjoy the farm, have a good time, and make a tradition out of it, so they come back year after year and have that same experience.

[tractor rumbling] We have so many repeat customers that love coming out to the farm.

It makes it wonderful to us, 'cause we see kids grow up.

- I think we'll just keep coming back.

You know, once we have kids, bring them back here, I'm sure they'll love to run around.

- I feel like it's really coming out and doing things like this, like getting a tree- - Yep.

- Putting it up, just starts to get us in the holiday spirit.

[bright festive orchestral music] - Jordan Lake Christmas Tree Farm is at 2170 Marthas Chapel Road in Apex, and they're open daily through the holiday season.

They have lots of activities and a big crowd, so plan your visit by giving them a call at 919-362-6300, or go online to jordanlakefarms.com.