Cut-Your-Own Christmas Tree at Syme Family Farm

**This Post was written in 2017. As such, the content  in the review below may be outdated.  As of 2022, the farm will offer Cut Your Own Christmas Tree on a reservation based system only.

There are ten days until Christmas! And if you still do not have your Christmas tree, and were planning to go this weekend, well I have the best place for you: Syme Family Farm in Broad Brook!  In fact, this is their last weekend, so this is the place for you to go if you still need a tree! 

Before we had a child in this house,  we always picked out a pre-cut tree at a local nursery, dragged it home in our trunk, and called it a day.  It worked. We even did that the first year our son was born.

Then we had a toddler. So this was our tree last year…

And the year before … Don’t judge. 

So since we were finally going back to our real tree tradition, we decided we needed to do it right and chop it down ourselves! Of course, in our family’s true fashion, we procrastinated.  We kept saying, “Oh, we can go next weekend.” Until finally, it was like two weeks until Christmas and we needed to get a tree. Of course, the day we finally planned to go, we get our first huge snowstorm of the season. Naturally. 

Honestly, I had not even picked a place to go for this adventure, and since it was snowing I was mildly freaking out that morning. I figured everyone would be closed. But I talked with a friend, and she tells me “I know a place! Syme Family Farm in Broad Brook! And they’re open!”  

In fact, they are open from Friday to Sunday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. As I mentioned before, this weekend (December 15-17, 2017) is their LAST weekend for the season! 

So, we enlisted the help of my in-laws to bring down their pickup truck because since we last bought a tree, we upgraded the family car. And the husband was not keen on the idea of finding pine needles in the trunk of our SUV for the next ten years. We ended up making a great choice, because driving in the snow was not fun. Thankfully, we only had to drive about ten minutes. 

Syme Family Farm is located on Windsorville Road in Broad Brook. Broad Brook is a neighborhood in East Windsor, BUT the address actually is Broad Brook. So make sure you enter Broad Brook into your GPS and not East Windsor! 

(Google Maps)

You’ll see their signs right as you drive down the road (we saw them in the snow so you’ll definitely see them on a clear day)!

If you are driving south, the entrance is right AFTER the sign. If you are driving north, the entrance is BEFORE the sign.  You’ll enter into their parking lot. 

You can either head into the barn first, or go right to the trees.  We chose to check out the barn before we headed out to pick our tree. 

Honestly, it was a good excuse to stay warm! Plus, it was super cute inside with lights and  decorations! 

You’ll find wreaths, kissing balls, swags and other decorations for sale.  They also have handmade crafts that make great Christmas presents. 

The barn is also home to the Christmas Calf!  Sadie is a Holstein dairy calf that was just born in July. She was pretty quiet during our visit – who can blame her, it was cold!! He still enjoyed checking her out and talking to her! 

We headed outside after a few minutes in the barn.  It was time to find the perfect tree! 

The trees cost $48 for any tree, including tax. Syme Family Farm provides saws, netting and even rope.  So they have you covered. You can of course bring your own saw (we had one with us just in case) but please, no chain saws! 

Before you head out, make sure to remember that this is a farm!! And on top of that, this is a farm where people chop down trees. So there will be bumps and stumps, and things that can trip you up. Add in any snow on the ground, and you will definitely want to heed their advice to watch your step! 

So, as I’ve mentioned, we were in search of our perfect family tree. And well, we had options.  A hill full of them!  They seemed to get bigger as you worked your way back.  However, don’t be deceived into thinking they are small. It’s amazing how different they look on the field versus when you get them home! They are impressive in size! Most are easily over 6 feet! The two tree varieties they grow are Balsam Fir and Canaan Fir.  

He was decked out in his snowsuit so we sent him on his merry way to find a tree! 

I know, it was exhausting buddy.  You can kind of see in the pictures that there is a little bit of a hill as you walk around. Even in the snow though, it was not bad. But for little feet, it definitely warranted a lot of breaks to play on the ground! Although, who am I kidding, that kid has more energy than all of us combined! 

I never thought I’d say this at a tree farm but there were actually TOO many good ones to choose! Thankfully, we met an awesome couple who gave us the best advice. Pipe cleaners. She told me to wrap the orange pipe cleaner around the trees we liked and that way it would be easier to find it again.  Brilliant!! 

Surprisingly, the winning tree was the very first one that I fell in love with.  We just roamed around for 30 minutes in the falling snow for the fun of it.   

My husband’s strength was put to the test!  Of course, he got some help from his favorite little lumberjack!  Timber!!!

Once you chop down your tree, if you’re far up on the hill, you can always hitch a ride back with the tractor. 

Since we were so close to the barn (I’m not kidding when I say that the winning tree was one we found early on – it was right near the bottom of the hill), the men carried it down. 

Since we had the pickup truck, we opted to not wrap the tree up in netting.  But if you do, they have a spot where they take care of that for you.

While my husband and father in law loaded up the tree, we took a couple silly pictures! 

We returned to the barn to warm up; and this boy parked himself right in front of the complimentary box of cookies. They also had candy canes and hot cocoa (for free)! 

We stayed in the barn for a while to enjoy the warmth, some cookies and cocoa, and a few more visits with the Christmas Calf. I also did some perusing and bought a swag for my front door.  Before you leave, make sure to pay! The cashier is located inside the barn. They take cash and credit card. 

Before we headed out, we made sure the tree was secure! He did a proper inspection! 

We had a great time at Syme Family Farm! The owners are very friendly, and they run a great place. I know we have many options in this area for Christmas trees, but I really loved this farm.  We here at This Connecticut Mom have visited many farms in almost two years, and I think farmers are the best people in the world.  And the Syme Family is definitely right up there on the top of my list now. 

As my husband says, “I think we found the place we’ll be getting our tree from every year”! 

Thanks again, Syme Family Farm! Our tree is beautiful!! 

This about sums it up…

72 Windsorville Road – Broad Brook, Connecticut

(860) 623-5925  

 Website

Cut Your Own Christmas Tree Hours: 

Seasonal, starting Black Friday through Christmas –  Friday to Sunday: 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Features:

• Cut Your Own Trees  – no precut trees
• Saw, netting and rope provided
• Complimentary hot chocolate and cookies
• Christmas Calf located in barn for visits
• Wreaths and other decorations available for sale; along with handmade gifts
• Tractor available to help you bring your tree back to the barn
• Cash and credit card accepted
• Strollers will be difficult to maneuver – bumpy terrain and lots of stumps 
• Family friendly
• Good sized parking area 
• I spotted a port-a-potty but did not check it out