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People who visit a Christmas tree farm are looking for two things: that special tree and a Christmas experience.

According to some Indiana tree growers, COVID-19 isn’t going to change that.

“We think it’s going to be a great season,” said Lance Sambol, who with his wife, Susan, owns Sambol’s Tree Farm in Hancock County.

“People are going to want to get outside. And they are not going to want to miss Christmas,” he said.

Like other retailers, Christmas tree farms have taken steps to keep their employees and customers safe.

At Sambol’s, the big change is that customers who wished to purchase a tree on one of the five most popular days – the Friday, Saturday and Sunday after Thanksgiving, as well as Dec. 5 and 6 – had to make a reservation using the farm’s website.

“I can’t have 500 people showing up the Friday after Thanksgiving,” Sambol said. “I don’t have the parking – and it’s just bad for everybody.”

Sambol planted his first crop of Christmas trees in 2009 and started selling in 2016. He now has 11 to 12 acres of trees, mostly Canaan firs and some white pines. He also sells pre-cut Fraser and Concolor firs, fresh wreaths, roping and swags as well as handmade ornaments.

According to owner T.J. Zeiser, Z&C Farms in Miami County has made a major adjustment – with the help of Santa himself. Rather than having children sit on his lap during his visits to Z&C Farms, Santa maintains social distancing and reads the Christmas story aloud, and the kids are instead given an opportunity to write him a letter.

Because Z&C Farms is still a new operation – 2020 is only the farm’s third season – it doesn’t yet have any Christmas trees ready for cutting. Instead, it’s offering pre-cut trees and the “real-tree experience,” Zeiser said. Visitors to Z&C Farms can sit around a campfire, drink hot chocolate, enjoy Christmas lights and music and purchase fresh garlands, wreaths and swags.

“There’s a fair amount of room out there on the farm, so people can spread out,” he added.

“Spreading out” is in fact a common strategy for Christmas tree farms.

“They’re creating a lot of memories while choosing that tree,” pointed out Amanda Potts of Potts’ Pines in Pike County, which has about 6 acres of white pine, spruce and cedar and offers pre-cut trees and fresh wreaths. When it comes to social distancing, “We’re not too concerned about the tree fields because there’s plenty of room.”

But the farm store is another matter, so in addition to offering hand sanitizer, the Pottses have placed shields in front of the counters and painted little Christmassy images on the floor to help people keep their distance. They have also made changes in the way they transport families to and from the tree fields to allow for more spacing.

The biggest change at Spencer Farm in Hamilton County has nothing to do with COVID-19. Kyle Spencer, who owns and operates the farm with his wife, Lori, and son Mark, said that 2020 will be the last time the farm offers choose-and-cut trees. Starting next year, Spencer Farms will offer only pre-cut trees.

The main reason for the change, Spencer said, is time. Offering all pre-cut trees will allow the Spencers to focus on their primary business, which is selling fruit (particularly berries), seasonal vegetables and other food items in their farm market, as well as a new venture, Spencer Farm Winery.

“We’ve been blessed, and our business is growing, and I just do not have time," said Spencer, referring to the tree farm.

For this year, social distancing and hand sanitizer are among the tactics Spencer Farm is using. In addition, the farm store, which is open all year, has been set up so that customers enter and exit through different doors.

“Outside, people do a really good job of keeping distance,” Spencer said.