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November 23 - 30

Gather Together!

turkeys
Having family and friends for Thanksgiving weekend? Wondering what to do with them come Friday while the turkey soup simmers? Here are a couple ideas... Keep an eye on our calendar and Think Skylands for the Holidays!

Green Friday!

Evergreen Valley Tree Farm
Christmas tree farmers plan years in advance, provide year-round care, and invest time, labor, and love into a crop which takes 7-15 years from planting to harvest. Opting for a real Christmas tree for your holiday decor helps the local environment, local economy, even rural landscapes. Cutting your own Christmas tree can be a memorable event for your family.
Evergreen Valley Tree Farm opens the gates for the Christmas season the day after Thanksgiving. The farm will be open from 9am to 4pm Tuesday through Sunday (closed Mondays) until December 23rd. Thousands of trees stand at attention, awaiting your review. Walk through the fields, breathe the fresh air, choose and cut! This year, a Blue Spruce grown at Evergreen Valley was selected as Grand Champion of New Jersey. The state’s annual Christmas Tree season opening ceremony is scheduled there for Monday, November 28. The farm is located at 71 Jackson Valley Road in Washington Township, just off of Route 31. Click or call 908/835-0557.

Crafts for Christmas

Don't forget, November 26 is Small Small Business Saturday! Avoid messy mall parking and that faceless big-box MaulMart syndrome, and get yourself some real service! Pick from hundreds of handmade, original items from any number of gift shops and galleries on the Main Streets of Northwest New Jersey.
Do we have some recommendations? Does Santa have little elves?
  • Decoys and Wildlife Gallery. Gifts for a lifetime! This wildlife art gallery contains an extensive collection of original paintings by some of the nation's most renowned artists as well as the area’s largest selection of hand carved decoys, representing carvers across the US. 55 Bridge St., Frenchtown. 908/996-6501
  • Gallery 23. Hand-crafted fine art, sculpture, designer jewelry, art glass, pottery, photography and more, by talented local artists. Open House, Dec. 3! 23 Main Street, Blairstown, 908/362-6865
  • Made To Order. This small distinctive jewelry and gift shop offers a wide selection of gold and platinum jewelry, including the popular Pandora system and Endless Jewelry. Also wildlife photos by Dan Bacon, fine art glass and crystal, Peggy Karr glass... 44 Main St., Clinton 908/735-4244
  • Wilbur's Country Store. British foods and candy, Yankee candles, wind chimes, pet-themed gifts, preserves, much more. Charming location in barn complex between Newton and Blairstown. 735 Route 94, Newton 07860, 908/362-8833
  • The Buck Stop Gift Shop. The expanded gift shop at Camp Taylor Campground offers gifts from nature, fine crafts, and an imaginative line-up of things hard to find anywhere else! 85 Mt. Pleasant Road, Columbia 908/496-4333
  • Lafayette Clayworks. Primarily original, functional stoneware for sale by multiple ceramic artists. Sculptural vessels and wall mounted art works are also available. Individual orders are also accepted. 22 Wantage Ave, Branchville 07826 973/948-3987

Seeds of the Season

Well-Sweep Herb Farm's Holiday Greenhouse Tour on Friday and Saturday (Nov. 25-26) is your chance to put lots of country in your Christmas, as Cyrus Hyde offers an informative lecture-tour of his collection of herbs from around the world. The greenhouse is stocked with a selection of attractive windowsill herbs, tender perennials in bloom and unique topiarys all holiday season long. Click or call 908/852-5390. Well-Sweep is located between Hackettstown and Washington at 205 Mt. Bethel Rd. in Port Murray.

Sunday School

As the holidays approach, consider the church as the predominant link in our history. The history of worship in Morris County is older than the county itself, which prior to its establishment in 1739, had been home to settlers in the eastern regions since 1695. Settlements in the western portion came soon thereafter, in the early 1700s. And the building of churches began. Many of today's congregations in the western part of the county can claim a heritage traced to the Roxiticus congregation, circa 1738. A Sunday afternoon drive reveals extraordinary beauty in these grand country churches. More...

Find Your Furnace

What most strikes the first-time visitor to the Oxford Furnace is how tall the stone structure is--over two stories high--and how utterly intact it remains, despite time and weather taking its toll. This relic of the eighteenth century stands for the most part intact, in no small way indebted to the stabilization project undertaken by the Warren County Cultural & Heritage Commission. Built in 1741, the Oxford Furnace was the third furnace in Colonial New Jersey, the first where iron ore was mined, and the operated the longest of any of the Colonial Furnaces. More...
   
   

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Sign up to receive your autumn copy of the Skylands Visitor magazine here. While you wait for the mailman, tap our calendar for the best events for you and your family, or check our current stories. Stay tuned to our Day Trip Map for good ideas for a scenic drive! The more aerobically inclined can choose among dozens of natural attractions or outdoor activities suggested on our website. Northwest New Jersey and destinations just beyond those borders, in Pennsylvania and New York, offer brilliant ways to get out and enjoy the pleasures of the season.
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