Holly Jolly Days at Patterson Farm Market and Tours had all of the ingredients for family fun, and many came to indulge in the special holiday treat.
Scheduled for three consecutive Saturdays, the final Holly Jolly Farm Days for 2023 was held Dec. 16 at the farm, located on Caldwell Road in Mount Ulla, offering a wide variety of activities for the entire family.

Having people come and visit the farm, create special memories and welcome in this holiday season is what Holly Jolly Days are all about, shared Michelle Patterson, who is responsible for overseeing the educational tours and events.

“My title is director of fun, so I have a great job here,” she added with a smile.

Families from the surrounding area arrived throughout the morning to create memories, whether it was while observing an upcoming birthday for daughter Braelyn, as was the case for the Marklin family, or to celebrate the first Christmas of son Liam, as the Rynecki family was doing this day.

There was the Dobbing family who had two reasons they decided to attend as nana, Nancy Imhoff, was in town for a visit, and little Beckham is “obsessed with all things Christmas,” shared mom Anna.

Wanting to come and have fun, plus supporting local farms, was what brought the Martinez family out for the winter event, having come for the fall one previously.

While the reasons for attending varied, the smiles on their faces as they made their way from one activity to another showed that the results were the same: a day of fun and memories being created.

Activities planned for the day included photo opportunities with the Grinch beginning at 10 a.m. until 1 p.m., at which time Santa and Mrs. Claus arrived for pictures until the event ended at 5 p.m.

In the same area, families could make a special snowman craft to take home and remember the day with the help of staff member Hannah Shumaker.
Everything that was needed to write Santa a letter was available for those wishing to do so at the writing station, completely set up with paper, pencils and a mailbox.

Rides on a tractor-pulled wagon and the farm’s cow barrel train, converted to a reindeer barrel train for the season, were offered throughout the day courtesy of staff members Mel Eaton and Brandon Horne, who served as chauffeurs for this special occasion.

Families could go into the barn area and visit the animals, which could be seen up close and fed, some of which included chickens, goats, donkeys, turkeys, rabbits and more.

Pawpaw Carl’s Playground area offered many things for children and adults to enjoy, including slides, swings, a bubble area, games, a ball zone with a baseball, basketball, football toss, soccer and much more.

And for those wanting to sit for a while and enjoy some refreshments and festive music, a picnic area with tables was available, along with benches stationed throughout the farm and a firepit and chairs seated all around.

And even though the weather was nice for the Holly Jolly Farm Day, there was snow in the air, at least during certain hours of the day as a snow machine blasted “snow” in the barnyard, providing even more fun photo opportunities plus lots of smiles and laughter.

Patterson Farm is a fourth-generation farm and is run full-time by family, including Patterson and her husband, Doug, his brother Randall and his wife Nora, Randall and Nora’s son Taylor, and Doug and Michelle’s daughter, Victoria, along with additional family members who help part-time.

While this was the last event of the year, the farm remains busy as it will be planning for the new year during January and February. Field trips begin in mid-March, with the market also reopening along that same time, and the first event of 2024 will be their Easter event in late March.

The farm offers poinsettias for sale in the winter, pumpkins, strawberries, other seasonal produce, a market and ice cream shop, a spring fun event, an egg hunt and a variety of tours.

“So there’s still a lot of things that happen on the farm, and we want to educate people about those things that happen,” Patterson said.

Having the community come and support the farm during the various events is “greatly appreciated,” she noted, “because you know farming can be hard. Less than two percent of the population’s farming now, so it is another way for our farm to continue to be sustainable.”