Early birds hit Christmas Tree Farm

“We opened the Monday of Thanksgiving week, and a lot people came out early to cut down their own Christmas tree,” said Pipe Creek Christmas Tree Farm & Pumpkin Patch said owner Jim Hingst.

He has been helping San Antonio region residents get in the Christmas spirit since 1994, when he sold 200 trees.

By this Christmas, the 6,000-tree farm will have sold more than 1,000 Christmas trees to be decorated and glowing in homes across Bandera County and beyond.

Among the opening day Christmas tree seekers were adults who have be coming to the tree farm since they were young, small families and big families searching for two Christmas trees.

Klaus Weinelt, 37, from San Antonio said he has been coming to the tree farm since middle school. He, wife Tami and three-year-old daughter Maggie were having fun looking for the perfect Christmas tree to chop down.

“We are a three-generation family coming here, and it is great,” he said.

“One difference this year is that we came on the first day to get the best tree for us,” said Klaus as he and his family walked into the forest of trees.

Also at the Christmas tree farm was the seven-person Frisbee family, who recently moved to San Antonio from northern Virginia.

Mom Lyisa Frisbee explained why some many family members were using tools.

“We are getting two Christmas trees, one for the kids and one as the real Christmas to see. That way, we let the kids decorate their tree the way they wanted,” she said.

Dad Shaun Frisbee let littlest child Olivia help chop down one of the trees, and they laughed as the rest of family got the other tree.

Two other people looking for the best tree to put presents under were Joan Clark of Utopia and her grandson, Jay Cantu.

“We are looking for just the right size tree to put in our house that does not have a large ceiling and we found it,” the grandmother said as her grandson worked on the tree.

For more information, call the Pipe Creek Christmas Tree Farm at 210-426-6191 or visit the website pipecreekchristmastrees.com. The address is 805 Phils Rd.