Making Memories at an Indiana Christmas Tree Farm

Before families even make it to the rows of trees near Tom and Kerry Dull's signature red barn, kids scamper away to explore the hayloft. They find a straw-bale fort honeycombed with tunnels waiting beneath hand-hewn wood beams.

Of course, there's a kitten. And a slide that carries kids in a rush down to the barn floor where there's an animal pen, warm and full of friendly sheep and a dignified llama named Bill. Family-owned Christmas tree farms throughout the Midwest know how to draw repeat visitors during their month-long season by offering simple mugs of cocoa, photos with Santa, horse-drawn wagon rides and gift shops.