MANALAPAN, N.J. (PIX11) -- It was a snow-covered day three years ago when Jack Sangillo and his girlfriend walked across his Christmas tree farm and a magical idea popped into his head.
"I want to give them an experience where they always want to come back," said Sangillo, co-owner of Anne Ellen Tree Farm. "We kind of walked through there with a paper plate and a pen, and just kind of drew out a map on a paper plate and kind of started from there."
He took what was a wooded area and transformed it into The Village at Anne Ellen.
"I want to give people that level of interaction that you don't get from a lot of the drive-through displays or the hayride displays or anything like that," said Sangillo.
Sure, there are nearly half a million dazzling lights, but every corner of the village on his farm in Manalapan, NY brings a different experience, from model trains to a candy cane factory, to Santa's mailroom and, for all of you on the naughty list, a coal mine.
"We put a bunch of buildings out there where people can actually interact and have little experiences," said Sangillo.
The coal mine is new for this year and features a coal pellet gun shooting range, not something you find at every holiday nights show. Then again, this isn't your average Christmas tree farm.
Back on the other side of the farm is a land of Christmas souvenirs and decor, and, of course, a candy shop.
"Stuff for your tree, for inside your house, we have really just about everything," said Sangillo.
"No matter who you are, no matter what background you come from, I want everybody to get some kind of experience where they were like, 'wow, that was pretty cool.'"
The farm is open 7 days a week. Tickets for the Village must be purchased online in advance. For scheduling information and tickets, click here.
Article From:
pix11.com
English (US) ·