Here in Central Florida, we aren’t really known for having your quintessential white Christmas. Mainly because it’s just way too hot for snow. But with that being said, there’s no reason that we have to settle for a less festive Christmas than anywhere else. Santa’s Farm and Christmas Tree Forest will help you get in the Christmas spirit and get you ready for the Christmas holiday with either a pick your own Christmas tree (which are pre-cut) or a cut your own Christmas tree. We’re not stopping there either. This is a full and fun day out with the kids. There are tons of things to do, and we’re taking you through everything, so you don’t miss a thing.  

Disclaimer: There are some links in this article that are affiliate links, which means that if you purchase through them, we receive a small commission. This is never an extra cost to you. Thanks for your support.

Information about the Christmas Tree Farm Near Me in Central Florida 

- Santa’s Farm and Christmas Tree Forest 

• Location: 35317 Huff Rd, Eustis, FL 32736 

• Phone Number: 352-357-9863 

• Parking: Free (on grass/dirt) 

• Tickets: Book Online in Advance. Walk-in tickets are limited if there are even any available some days. You can purchase a tree sale only ticket as well if you just want to go for the trees and not the activities. Visits with Santa are included with admission and available from 11am to 3pm on Saturdays and Sundays only. 

• Price: $7 pp Peak & Fridays with activities, $5 pp Off-Peak with activities, $3 Santa’s Last Call (Tree Sales Only plus bar & grill), $1 pp Tuesday through Thursday for Tree Sales only and after-hours tree sales (6pm to 8pm) 

  • Children 2 and under are free.

  • Tickets purchased online incur a processing fee (which is still less than if purchased at the gate).

• Days: As this is a seasonal farm, the Christmas season runs from late-November to mid-December. Check their website calendar for available days or Facebook for updates on weather.

  • Closed Mondays. 

• Hours: Generally, 9am or 10am to 5pm or 6pm.

  • Friday Hours are 1pm to 5pm (They run field trips in the morning those days)

  • The time listed on your ticket is the one-hour window in which you may enter the farm. 

• Restrooms: Main restrooms are located in Santa’s Village. This includes an area for diaper changing or nursing. Portable toilets can be found just outside the petting zoo along with an outdoor sink for hand washing.  
  

How to Prepare for a Visit to Santa’s Farm and Christmas Tree Forest 

If you’ve read any of my Florida blog posts, you will realize a recurring theme of things to pack. It doesn’t matter the season or farm, it could be vegetable picking, blueberry picking, u pick blackberries, strawberries u pick, a maze of corn, or the pumpkin patch. Firstly, we always have a backpack, then we prep with bug spray and sunscreen. We make sure to wear comfortable shoes that can and will get dirty, wear sunglasses, and have a water bottle. I love the Hydroflask water bottles for us adults to keep the ice intact for the day. I prefer the Thermos water bottles for the kids, because they also keep the ice intact, but they are easy to clean and maintain without worrying about mold growth. You can check out my travel accessories blog post to see my other must have items. 

Santa’s Farm – Jolly Acres Activities 

Bounce Pillow 

Roping Practice with a Lasso 

Shark Tooth Dig 

Connect Four 

Tube Slides 

Rubber Duck Water Race 

You can bring your own ducks from home, or you can purchase Christmas themed ducks for $1 each at the front gate for lots of fun.  

Barrel Tram 

Bouncy Balls 

Hill Rope Climb 

Hula Hoops 

Corn Hole 

Jenga 

Tire Climb 

Bike Maze 

We didn’t even get to the pick your own Christmas tree or the cut your own Christmas tree and already there are so many things to do here for the kids. Tons of jolly acres to explore. All these activities are included in your admission. It’s a great deal and lots of bang for your buck. And if you can believe it, this is still only just some of the activities here at Santa’s farm. There are lots more to go. 

Jolly Acres Petting Zoo 

Before you walk to all the Jolly Acres activities; you will pass the Jolly Acres petting zoo first. The petting zoo is included with admission, but for an additional cost you can pay to feed some of these barn animals too. Here you’ll find there are chickens, turkeys, goats, pigs, ducks, cows, horses, and donkeys to pet. The goats here at Santa’s Farm even have a little bridge tucked into the trees that they can walk on. From the bottom you can feed them via a pulley system. Lots of fun for the kids to participate in. Right outside the petting zoo of Jolly Acres there is an outdoor sink, which is a horse trough, perfectly situated to wash your hands before you move on to more fun activities. 

Zip Lining the Christmas Tree Forest at Santa’s Farm 

• Not included with admission. Only available on Saturdays and Sundays. Not available before 10am or after 3pm entry time; tickets must be used before 5pm closing. 

• Price: $9 for two rides.  

Here at Santa’s Farm, they have all the kids covered when it comes to zip lining. There is a smaller zip line for kids ages 3 to 7. It’s only a few feet from the ground, but still, lots of fun.  

For kids ages 8 and up (with a max weight of 250 lbs), there is a higher and longer (400 feet long) zip line. Helmets are required, but this zip line takes you right above the Christmas tree forest and past all the activities of Jolly Acres. You can also read about our other fun zip lining excursion in Virginia.  

Horseback Riding at Santa’s Farm 

• Not included with admission. Only available on Saturdays and Sundays. Can and should be purchased in advanced online with admission given there is limited rides available per day. Not available before 10am or after 2pm entry time; tickets must be used before 4pm closing. NR or NH notation when you are purchasing admission tickets online mean no horse rides are available for that day. 

• Children under 3 and riders unable to hold on securely must be accompanied by an adult side walker.   

• Helmets are required. Max weight 200 lbs.  

• Horses break from 12:50pm to 2pm.  

• Price: $6 per ride.   

While my kids do love horseback riding, we didn’t do any while we were at Santa’s Farm. You can read all about the last time they went horseback riding which was at Disney’s Fort Wilderness. 

Free Christmas Maze 

Last stop in Jolly Acres, is to check out their Christmas Maze. Located right next to the bounce pillow, you can find a fenced maze set up. Check in with a Santa’s Farm worker at the bounce pillow, there you will be given a paper with all the clues of what you need to find and a small pencil to mark them off. Little kids should head into the maze with an adult to find all the clues. Bring your completed paper back to where you started and hand it in for a candy treat. 

Pick Your Own Christmas Tree or Cut Your Own Christmas Tree? 

You did all the activities around Santa’s Farm, and now it’s Christmas tree time. Here are some things to remember. At the Christmas Tree Forest or just Florida in general, there are only certain kinds of Christmas trees that grow. They are the Sand Pine, Red Cedar, and the Arizona Cypress. If you want a more traditional looking tree, which is typically Northern grown, then you will find those in the pick your own Christmas tree section. There they have Pine, Black Spruce, Blue Spruce, Douglas Fir, Balsam Fir, or Fraser Fir. They are already pre-cut and pre-priced with tags to identify.  

The first time we came to the Christmas Tree Forest was Michael and I’s first Christmas married. With no kids yet. We cut our own Christmas tree that year and chose a Red Cedar. With the kids this year, we went for a more traditional tree and picked from the pick your own Christmas tree section instead. It really is all a matter of preference.  

Hayride around the Christmas Tree Forest  

No matter which route you choose to go cut your own Christmas tree or pick your own Christmas tree, you can still always take the hayride. The hayride takes you around their 17-acre Christmas Tree Forest.  

If you are doing the pick your own Christmas tree, then you can stay on the hayride the entire time as it takes you along the perimeter of the Christmas Tree Forest. Or halfway through, the hayride will stop, and you can get off and walk through the Christmas Tree Forest back to Santa’s Village or wait for the hayride to make its way back around again to pick you up.  

If you are doing the cut your own Christmas tree, then be sure to keep your eyes open for the perfect tree. The hayride driver will let you know which field (pine, cedar, or cypress) you are in as he drives along. When you think you’ve found it, give a wave to the hayride driver so he can stop and let you off. There you will find and cut down the tree yourself. Cut as close to the ground as you can to leave enough trunk to be able to put it on or in a stand. Once your Christmas tree is cut drag it to the nearest edge of the tree row and the hayride will come back around to pick it up and bring it back to Santa’s Village for you. 

Cut Your Own Christmas Tree 

• Prices: Trees 5 to 8 feet: $50; Trees 8 feet and up: $6 per foot 

• Trees under 5 feet may not be cut. You are responsible to purchase any tree you cut.  

• Shaking, baling, and assisting with tying to your car are all included in tree purchase. 

• Saws are available to use and are included with tree cost. 

Pick Your Own Christmas Tree 

• Prices: See the below prices as per their website. Once you are at Santa's Farm, there will be a notation of color coded tags with pricing for easier reference.

  • Scotch (or Scots) Pine under 5 feet – under $40 

  • 3’-6’ Fraser, 5’-6’ Black Hills Spruce, Lower grade 6’-8’ Black Hills, Blue Spruce & Scotch Pine – $40-$60 

  • 6’-8’ Black Hills Spruce, Fraser & Douglas Fir, Lower grade 7’-8’ Scotch – $60-$80 

  • 7’-8’ Fraser Fir, 8’-9’ Black Hills Spruce, Douglas Fir, Balsam Fir, Scotch Pine and lower grade 8’-10’ Blue Spruce – $80-$110 

  • 8’-9’ Fraser, 9’-10’ Black Hills Spruce, Douglas & Balsam Fir – $120-$140 

  • 10’-11’ Douglas and Fraser Fir – $150-$315 

  • 12’, 13’, 16’ – $350 and up 

• Shaking, baling, and assisting with tying to your car are all included in tree purchase. 

Christmas Tree Stand 

Whether you are doing the cut your own Christmas tree or pick your own Christmas tree, the workers at Santa’s Farm will drill a hole in the tree trunk for free for you to be able to put it onto a tree stand. If you already have a tree stand at home, then great. If not, then they have tree stands for sale to purchase here as well. 

Santa’s Village at the Christmas Tree Forest 

Your day at Santa’s Farm and Christmas Tree Forest doesn’t need to be over just yet. If you bought a pick your own Christmas tree or cut your own Christmas tree, the friendly folks of the Christmas Tree Forest will label them to be picked up whenever you are ready to head home. So don’t worry if you found the perfect Christmas tree, it’s not going anywhere. 

Santa’s Village is the hub for the restrooms, food and snack stands, bar, picnic benches, photo opportunities, fire pit, wreath stand, and Christmas shop. Here is also where you’ll meet and can take pictures with Santa Claus. You can read all about my Alaska vacation which includes my trip to Santa Claus house in the North Pole. 

At Santa’s Village, they have some great photo spots for the kids or the whole family. We love taking these pictures at all the different farms year after year to see the kid's growth. 

Don’t forget to stop by their little Christmas shop with ornaments, snow globes, and little trinkets for purchase. Just outside the Christmas shop is the wreath shop, where you can buy a pre-made wreath for your door or to give as a gift. 

Food at Santa’s Farm and Christmas Tree Forest 

Santa’s Village is where all the food, snack, and bar stands are located. They have the taco tree which is a stand for... can you guess it? Tacos! Next to it, you’ll find a stand for burgers, hot dogs, and Italian sausages and peppers sandwiches. It looks like they may be branching out (pun intended) to offer plant-based burger patties as well. You’ll also find a bar for the adults. Just across is another stand called the Frozen Elf. Here you’ll find all the throwback frozen treats you used to get off the ice cream truck. They also have s'mores packages for sale to toast over the open fire pit located in the Santa’s Village as well. 

• Gluten Free and Dairy Free Information 

As always, I’m giving you all my gluten free and dairy free tips. Typically for most farms, allergy friendly food is limited if there is any of it at all and Santa’s Farm is not much different. There isn’t any gluten free or dairy free food, just snacks here and there. I typically always pack my lunch when going to farms like these. Some farms will let you bring in your own food to enjoy at picnic table with the rest of your family. Santa’s Farm does not want outside food to be brought in, so you can either put some in a backpack vs trying to tote in a full cooler, or you can head back to your car to eat if they won’t let you bring it in.  

Merry Christmas! You’ll have to let me know if you go to Santa’s Farm in the comments below or if you are team cut your own Christmas tree or team pick your own Christmas tree. 

Disclaimer: There are some links in this article that are affiliate links, which means that if you purchase through them, we receive a small commission. This is never an extra cost to you. Thanks for your support.