Holly jolly fun: Here’s where to cut Christmas trees, take photos with Santa in Wichita
If your holiday plans include finding a live Christmas tree to decorate or getting photos with Santa, there are plenty of opportunities for those and more in the Wichita area right after the Thanksgiving holiday.
Trees fly off the fields
Area tree farmers have some of their busiest days in the first couple of weeks following Thanksgiving, according to some owners interviewed for this story.
Last year, Windy Knoll Farm in Derby ended up selling all its limited homegrown inventory during the weekend after Thanksgiving, according to co-owner Jeff Adams.
At Pine Lake Christmas Tree Farm, also located in Derby, co-owner and retired educator Celia Goering said business is often so brisk that data from their busiest day in the past has shown one tree was sold every 30 seconds. Pine Lake had its first cutting season 40 years ago.
Growing Christmas trees in Kansas is a long-term investment since it takes about six to eight years to go from planting to cutting season; the trees tend to grow about a foot each year and droughts during the springtime can impact the growth.
Pine Lake has about 7,500 trees total, ranging from what Goering called “6-inch baby trees” to a recently harvested tree standing 10½ feet tall. This past year, Glen Goering planted 2,000 trees and expects to plant just as many this coming year.
Every year, the Goerings also import pre-cut Frasier, Douglas and other fir trees from Michigan.
Wichitans Frida Morales and Max Olinger were among this year’s early customers at Pine Lake, which opened before Thanksgiving. With family in town for an early Thanksgiving celebration, Morales and Olinger wanted to find a live holiday tree for their first Christmas in their new place.
“We didn’t know what to expect,” Morales said of her and Olinger’s visit to the Pine Lake Farm. “We went and looked around (at the live trees) and ended up with an imported one.” The couple bought a Douglas fir.
Their experience in maintaining a live tree this year will determine whether the couple makes it an annual tradition, Morales said.
Pine Lake, located at 6802 S. Oliver, will be open daily except on Thanksgiving through Dec. 20. Hours for Friday and Saturday, Nov. 29 and 30, are 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Regular hours are 2-6 p.m. weekdays, 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturdays, and 1-6 p.m. Sundays. Additional activities include hayrack rides, complimentary hot beverages and an outdoor fire pit. Individual s’mores kits are available for a nominal fee. More info: 316-258-0088, pinelakechristmastrees.com
▪ Windy Knoll, 15630 E. 47th St. S., Derby, will be open from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Nov. 29 and 30, and 1-5 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 1. Visitors can also stop by the farm’s petting zoo comprising baby doll sheep, miniature donkeys and goats. Classes to make gnomes and wreaths from live evergreens are scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Nov. 29 and 30; cost is $45. More info: 316-644-1519, windyknolltrees.info
▪ Pine Creek Farm, 994 Meridian Road, Newton, is the only area farm open Thanksgiving Day from 1-5:30 p.m. It will be open extended hours on Friday, Nov. 29, starting at 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Regular hours are 1-5:30 p.m. Tuesdays-Fridays and 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Saturdays. Second-generation owners Arding and Wynn Goering plan to remain open through Dec. 15 but may close sooner if their stock runs out. The farm, which had its first cutting season in 1978, also has a candy cane maze for kids. More information: 620-367-2606, pinecreektreefarm.com
▪ Peaceful Pines, 762 80th, Walton, will be open Fridays through Sundays on the four weekends following Thanksgiving, with extended hours from 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 29. Regular hours are 1- 5:30 p.m. Fridays and Sundays, 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Saturdays. The farm, which opened in 2018, grows Scotch, Virginia, Austrian and white pine trees. More info: 620-367-2612 or peacefulpinestreefarm.com
▪ Prairie Pines, 4055 N. Tyler Road, Maize, will start selling both homegrown and imported trees on Friday, Nov. 29, from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. It will remain open daily through Sunday, Dec. 8, and then Dec. 11-15 and Dec. 21-22, according to its schedule posted online. Hours are generally 2-5:30 p.m. weekdays, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturdays and noon-5 p.m. Sundays. Santa is scheduled to visit on opening day from 11 a.m.-3:30 p.m. On the weekends through Dec. 22, Santa will be at the farm from 11 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Saturdays and 1-3:30 p.m. Sundays. More information: 316-303-2037, prairiepines.com
Wichita’s only tree farm, 4C Tree Farm which was established in 1978, has closed.
Set your sights on Santa
Santa Claus is making appearances all over Wichita and the surrounding area, from photo sessions for kids and fur babies to dropping in for some of Wichita’s annual holiday events.
▪ What’s better than a photo from a visit with Santa? How about a video? Cabela’s, 2427 N. Greenwich Road, provides a free 4x6-inch photo and a shareable video taken during photo sessions with Santa. This year, the outdoor recreation retailer has additional activities happening within its Santa Wonderland section, including Christmas story time at 5 p.m. Tuesdays, Dec. 3, 10 and 17, and breakfast at 9 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 7. Reservations are required for all activities; slots become available for booking one week in advance. During weekday visits, Cabela’s is giving away either an ornament or cookie cutter. Santa Wonderland is open daily through Dec. 24. To book, visit https://www.cabelas.com/shop/en/santas-wonderland. Additional photo packages are available for purchase.
▪ Santa arrived Nov. 22 at Towne East Square, 7700 W. Kellogg, and he’ll be there daily through Dec. 24. He’ll also be available for a sensory-friendly experience for kids with special needs from 9-10:30 a.m. Sunday, Dec. 8. Walk-ups are welcome, but advance reservations, booked online, are highly encouraged. One of the perks for booking online is a personalized digital message from Santa. More info: simon.com/mall/towne-east-square/stores/santa-photo-experience
▪ Mrs. Claus will join Santa for two special photo sessions at The Selfie Spot, 1811 E. Douglas, from 5-8 p.m. Wednesday, Dec 4, and Monday, Dec. 9. All the selfie booths are decorated for the holidays for additional photo opportunities. To book one of the Santa sessions, go to theselfiespotondouglas.com Cost is $10 for an hour session, with 5 and under being free.
▪ A meet-and-greet with Santa and reindeer is happening from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 8, at the Newmarket Square main entrance fountain plaza, 2441 N. Maize. Cocoa Dolce will provide hot chocolate. In case of inclement weather, the event will move indoors. More info: facebook.com/events/1084274436699632
Posing with pets
▪ For a special treat, take your pet for a photo session with Santa. The Kansas Humane Society is taking bookings for its holiday pet photo sessions at Naftzger Park from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 7 and 8. Each photo session is 5 minutes, and pets of all kinds must be on a leash. Make reservations online at kshumane.org/news-events/blog/1153-2024-holiday-photos; walk-ups are also available. The $25 fee includes a digital photo, with upgrade options available.
▪ Wichita Animal Action League is holding its “Santa Paws” event for dogs at Hidden Acres Dog Resort, 10000 S. Webb in Mulvane, from 2-4 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 14. It’s free; bring cash or pet food donations for WAAL to be entered into a raffle drawing. More info: facebook.com/events/3267311363404889
▪ All three PetSmart locations in Wichita are offering pet photos from 2-6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 14 and 15. When you visit PetSmart’s Santa photo days web page, petsmart.com/santa-photo-days.html, to book an advance appointment, click on the map’s location icon to bring up the Book Now button. If you’d rather take your own holiday photos of your fur babies, PetCo offers tips on its website as well, petco.com/content/content-hub/home.html.
Reindeer & visits with Santa
Several holiday events and experiences include opportunities to visit and get photos with Santa as part of the admission.
▪ Get selfies with Santa during the final weekend of the 10th annual Feztival of Trees at the Midian Shrine Temple, 130 N. Topeka St. Hours for the event — where you can check out decorated trees and buy raffle tickets to try to win the tree and all the swag on and under it — are 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Friday, Nov. 29; 9 a.m.-8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 30; and 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Sundays, Dec. 1. Admission: $5, kids 10 and under free. More info: facebook.com/p/Midian-Shrine-Feztival-of-Trees-100064684117357
▪ Santa will be available through Dec. 23 at Illuminations at Botanica. Kids can also drop off their Santa letters in an oversized mailbox. The event, which features more than 2 million lights strung throughout the gardens, is held nightly from 5:30-9 p.m. Nov. 29-Jan. 4 (closed Dec. 24 and 25). Tickets are $16, $13 for members, military members and seniors, $10 for children ages 3-12, free for children 2 and younger. Timed admissions start at 5:30 p.m. and continue every hour through 8:30 p.m. All tickets must be purchased online. More info: 316-264-0448, botanica.org/illuminations
▪ Check out Santa’s workshop when you visit Cardinal Creek Farm, 396 SW 110th in Leon, from 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Saturdays and noon-7 p.m. Sundays through Dec. 22. Santa stops by the farm from 2-4 p.m. Saturdays. The farm also offers pre-cut trees and ice skating. Admission: free, $5 per person for skating. More info: 316-323-4609, cardinalcreekfarm.org/eventsThe NFL super fan Chief “Santa Ma-Ho-Ho-Homes” will be among the characters doing meet-and-greets during the free Jingle & Mingle ICT event from 3-5 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 1, at the Hilltop Community Center, 1329 S. Terrace Drive. Other activities include a Christmas character dance party, cookie decorating, balloon twisting, face painting and more. The event is free, with donations accepted for Wichita’s Littlest Heroes organization, which helps kids experiencing life-threatening medical conditions. More info: facebook.com/events/523256303910155
▪ Santa is visiting Bradley Fair as part of the shopping center’s Holiday Stroll events from 2-5 p.m. Sunday afternoons Dec. 1-22. Santa’s appearance is from 2-4 p.m. You can also take pictures in a big red sleigh. The event includes meet-and-greets with movie characters, such as Disney princesses, Olaf the snowman from “Frozen,” and the Grinch, and complimentary hot cocoa and seasonal treat samples. Most activities are free, but rides on an electric train are $5 per person. More info: bradleyfair.com/event/holiday-stroll-december-1
▪ The main objective of the Watson Christmas Express experience, which is Wichita’s version of the Polar Express, is to ride Watson Park’s miniature train to see Santa. The event opens at 5 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 30, and continues every Friday-Sunday evening through Dec. 22. There are two ticket options: All-inclusive VIP tickets that must be booked in advance online, or ala-carte general admission tickets that can only be purchased from 5 to 6:30 p.m. onsite. The VIP packages run every 75 minutes between 5-8:15 p.m. while general admission tickets are first-come, first-served. VIP tickets, which include a book reading along with s’mores and unlimited hot chocolate around a campfire, are $20 per person for ages 2 and older. The $15 general admission ticket is for just the train ride and Santa visit; s’mores and unlimited hot chocolate are a $5 add-on option. More info: 316-529-9940 ext. 5, wichita.gov/656/Watsons-Christmas-Express
▪ Visit Santa and Mrs. Claus and see whether the reindeer really do play games as part of A Country Christmas at Fulton Farms, 5079 SW Fulton Road, Towanda. The farm is home to several reindeer that are often hired to make appearances elsewhere. The event, where visitors can walk wooded paths decorated with more than 1 million lights, will be held 5:30-9 p.m. Fridays-Sundays, Nov. 29-Dec. 8, and then nightly Dec. 13-23. Other activities include sleigh rides with Clydesdales and a nightly living nativity performance. Tickets: $12, $9 ages 4-12, free ages 3 and under. Fulton Farms also offers dining experiences with Santa on select dates. More info: 316-775-1894, fultonvalleyfarms.com
▪ During Old Cowtown Museum’s Victorian Christmas event, Santa hangs out in the attraction’s Southern Hotel. The event will be held 6-9 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, Dec. 6, 7, 13 and 14, Other activities include community volunteers reenacting “The Night Before Christmas” story in the old schoolhouse and carolers strolling the lamp-lit dirt streets. Tickets: $15 per person; free for kids 4 and under and Cowtown members. More info: 316-350-3323, oldcowtown.org
▪ Santa is bringing some North Pole VIPs —Mrs. Claus, elves and a reindeer — when he visits the Wichita Art Museum for its holiday open house 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 7. Besides taking photos with the VIPs, other activities include holiday choral and dance performances, storytelling and artmaking. As a special gift, admission to the featured exhibition, ‘Robert Peterson: Somewhere in America,” is free. More info: 316-268-4921, wichitaartmuseum.org.
▪ Santa, along with Mrs. Claus and the Grinch, will be at the city of Wichita’s tree-lighting and Winter Wonderland event from 6-8 p.m. Friday, Dec. 13, in Naftzger Park, 601 E. Douglas. Other activities include making s’mores, listening to live music, writing letters to Santa, and enjoying candy canes and cookies. More info: facebook.com/events/415725418047119
Treats & dining with Santa
▪ Santa’s cookie workshop at Homegrown Bradley Fair, 1900 N. Rock Road #108, from 6-7:30 p.m. Thursdays, Dec. 5 and 12. Hosted by Bakesale Treat Parlor, the event includes photos, holiday beverages, a letter-writing station and a cookie. Tickets are $25 for two people and $30 for four (the six-person packages are sold out). Additional cookie kits and professional photo packages are available for purchase. Visit bradleyfair.com/event/cookieswithsanta1 to book a spot.
▪ Old Cowtown Museum’s annual Breakfast with Santa happens 9-11 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 7, in the attraction’s Visitor Center. Tickets are $20 for nonmembers, $15 for members. For reservation information, visit facebook.com/events/1003241031445863/ or call 316-350-3323.
▪ Santa dining events at Fulton Farms, 3079 SW Fulton Road in Towanda. Tickets for the Santa dining events are selling fast with some dates already sold out. Tickets remain for the Friday, Dec. 6, Dinner with Santa event. Check-ins begin at 5:30 p.m. with Santa visiting from 5:30-6:30 p.m. in the Boot Scootin Barn until he heads to the farm’s Santa station. Tickets are $25 for ages 12 and older, $17 for ages 4-11, free for 3 and under. A more elaborate Christmas dinner will be held 5:30 p.m. Fridays, Dec. 13 and 20. Cost is $52 for ages 12 and older, $22 for ages 4-11, free for 3 and under. Tickets include admission to other farm’s other Country Christmas activities, including the 1.2 million-lights display on the grounds, live reindeer and a nightly live Nativity performance. More info: 316-775-1894, fultonvalleyfarms.com
▪ Santa and his elves will be available for photos during breakfast at Eberly Farm, 13111 W. 21st St., on the first two Saturdays of December. There are three entry times between 9 a.m. and noon Dec. 7 and 14. Admission is $5 and includes a breakfast pastry, hot beverage and juice. Additional food and beverage options are available for purchase. Advance booking is required. More info: 316-722-3580, facebook.com/EberlyFarmEventVenue
▪ Dave & Busters, 2644 Greenwich, is offering its version of reindeer games, including photos with Santa, during a breakfast buffet at 9 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 7. Cost is $32.99 and includes the buffet, $10 game card with unlimited video game play, photos with Santa and other activities. Buy tickets in advance since spots are limited; call 316-796-8550.
▪ No stranger to flying, Santa will be available for photos with patrons who partake of the Saturday, Dec. 21, breakfast buffet at Benton’s Stearman Bar & Grill, 14789 SW 30th St., which is adjacent to an airstrip. The buffet will be available starting at 8 a.m., with Santa photos from 9 a.m.-noon. The buffet is $17.99 for adults and $10.99 for kids.
