Welcome aboard the Old Time Express! As we roll through the scenic fields of the Old Time Christmas Tree Farm, you’ll learn fun facts about our farm, it's history, our trees, and how we bring Fall and Christmas magic to life. Sit back and enjoy your ride!

Damian and Leia Prause opened the Old Time Christmas Tree Farm in 1996. Located in the heart of Klein, Texas, this land has been in Leia's family for over 100 years. Damian and Leia’s children, Erin and Michael, grew up on this farm and now help run the operation full-time.

This train ride was handmade by Damian and his father, Benny Prause - custom train cars pulled by a tractor built to look like a steam engine. 

The land your train is crossing has grown other crops like cotton, corn, hay, and peanuts for more than a century before Christmas trees were planted. Leia’s grandfather, Milton Kleb, also ran a Dairy farm here on this land, where thousands of gallons of Milk were produced. Leia’s father, Wayne Kleb, grew up here helping his father with the dairy. Fun fact: Wayne Kleb still lives on the farm today!

Our farm is over 75 acres, and today we manage over 40,000 pine and cypress trees planted on about 40 of those acres. Each Christmas tree must be planted and cared for individually by hand!

We grow two types of Christmas trees here - Pine and Cypress. A pine tree has long, straight needles, and grows about 1 to 1.5 feet per year. It has a light scent and is often deemed the Texas Christmas Classic. The cypress tree has flat, feathery needles, and it grows a little faster - about 1.5 to 2 feet per year. Unlike the pine, the cypress does not pollinate, making it more suitable for those with allergies or sensitivities.

Our trees are planted and harvested sustainably. For every tree we sell, a new seedling is planted in its place. The pine seedlings are shipped here, trimmed, and then planted straight into the ground. The cypress trees are grown in a pot first, and then transplanted into the ground. We start planting our new trees in the early months of each year. 

Once the trees are planted, each one must be secured to a stake so the trees will grow nice and straight. This must be done several times within the tree’s life span. 

We use a machine with sharp blades to trim each tree by hand a few times per year. The average tree is trimmed by hand anywhere between 6 to 20 (or even more!) times within its life span. Christmas trees don’t grow in a perfect cone shape! It’s up to us to keep them looking their best.

When the weather gets too dry, we have to water the trees using irrigation to keep them healthy and growing strong. The water comes from a big pond and gets pumped through pipes out to the sprinklers. The sprinklers can water about 8 to 10 rows at a time, and when those rows are complete, we have to move the sprinkler reels over to the next section.

Taking care of Christmas trees sure is hard work, but seeing the joy that it brings to so many families during the Christmas season makes it all worth it. Being a part of the Texas agricultural community means we engage with local families year after year—many visitors return season after season, and it’s part of our farm’s lasting legacy.

In the Fall, we host a Pumpkin Patch, where guests can enjoy activities like the train ride, hay ride, petting zoo, 1-acre corn maze, and bounce houses and slides for the kiddos. Leia and Damian started hosting the pumpkin patch event as a way to bring customers in during our off-season and help market our Christmas tree selection. Although pumpkins will grow here in Spring, Texas, the humid and wet conditions are not conducive to a crop that would produce enough pumpkins for our needs. Our pumpkins are sourced from other family farms in North Texas, where pumpkins thrive in a drier climate, and we are proud to support them each year.

We hope you’ve enjoyed learning more about our family farm.  Be sure to explore the farm after the ride—visit our other attractions, shop the handmade craft selection, grab some shaved ice or coffee from Tikiz, or treat yourself to a delicious funnel cake, corn dog, or nachos from The Sweet Zone! 

Thank you for choosing to make memories with us here at the Old Time Christmas Tree Farm. Have a blessed day!