Celebrate This Christmas With A Real Tree at Spake's Christmas Tree Farm

Posted Monday, December 8, 2025 4:25 pm

By: Ashley Reep - Wise News Network

"It smells like Christmas."

Shelby, NC (WNN) - For many families, the holiday decorating always starts with the tree, leading to the familiar question: Where will we get our Christmas tree this year? Some might head straight to the store for a pre-lit artificial tree, and others may embrace their inner Griswold by chopping down their own. But there's a better option: supporting local Christmas tree farms in your community.

Rooted In Tradition

There is something magical about stepping onto a Christmas tree farm on a cold December day. That scent of fresh pine trees is the joy that marks the beginning of the holiday season. Spake's Farms, located in Shelby, NC, is ready to give everyone that experience as they get ready to sell their Christmas trees for the season.

Started by Mike Spake in 1982, Spake's Farms has been a family tradition for 43 years. Each holiday season, the farm brings in Fraser firs sourced exclusively from the mountains of Western North Carolina, specifically Avery, Watauga, and Ashe Counties. Known as the "High Country," these areas grow some of the finest Christmas Trees on the East Coast.

Whether you're searching for a small three-foot tree for your apartment or a tall twelve-foot tree for your foyer, Spake's Farms has a tree for every home.

Ouside of the shop located at Spake's Farms - December 3rd, 2025

The false front on the Christmas tree lot is decorated for friends and family to take their Christmas pictures. Spake's Farms - December 3rd, 2025

A worker is seen helping trim a tree for the holiday season. Spake's Farms - December 3rd, 2025

Spakes is serving free hot chocolate and cookies while visitors shop for trees. Spake's Farms - December 3rd, 2025

Tammera helps set out handmade wreaths for visitors. Spake's Farms - December 3rd, 2025

The Benefits of Real Trees Over Artificial

Tammera Spake, Mike's wife, says people should buy real trees because, "It smells like Christmas." And she's right. You might be able to find a Christmas tree-scented candle at your local Bath and Body Works, but nothing can compare to the smell of fresh Fraser fir to commemorate the holiday season.

Beyond the sensory experience, choosing a real tree helps support North Carolina agriculture, including those who have faced challenges during Hurricane Helene. Investing in a real tree helps those families who are trying to make ends meet just in time for Christmas.

All of Spake's prices are based on the height of the tree. The taller the tree, the higher the price.

How Do You Care for a Real Tree?

If you pick out a Fraser fir from Spake's Farms, remember that Fraser firs need to be watered every day. The amount will depend on the size of your tree, but Spake's offers a convenient water funnel to make daily care easier. With a bit of attention and the occasional sweep of fallen pine needles, your tree will stay fresh and ready to shine on Christmas Day. After the holidays, you can reuse your tree for firewood or take it to your local landfill to be recycled back into the earth. Now that's sustainable!

Spake's Farms

At Spake's Farms, the experience doesn't end when you pick out your tree. Visitors can warm up with hot chocolate and ginger snaps while browsing for handmade wreaths, bows, roping, and tree stands.

The farm is open every day until supplies are gone. While the farm may close when all of its trees have been sold, it will reopen for visitors in the springtime when its freshly grown strawberries are ready to be picked.

When you carry a real tree out of Spake's Farms, you are taking home more than just a tree. You are taking home a piece of community, a piece of WNC, and a tradition that continues to grow year after year.