Bay Area Christmas Tree Farm Gives Customers A Chance To Cut Down Their Own Tree

Here are the morning’s top stories on Friday, December 19, 2025…

• The holiday season brings many traditions for families across California. One that is tried and true – decorating your home with a Christmas tree. While most families buy artificial trees these days, there are still some places in the state where you can not only get a living tree, but even cut it down yourself.
• Roughly 2,000 people meander through Old Monterey every December to tour California’s oldest government building and other Alta California adobes. Monterey State Historic Park interpreter Aaron Gilmartin helped coordinate the immersive event.
• A panel of federal judges could rule soon on whether California’s new congressional maps can stay in place. That’s after a three day court hearing in Los Angeles ended Wednesday.

Bay Area Christmas Tree Farm Brings The Holiday Spirit To Customers

The Castro Valley Christmas Tree Farm sits in the East Bay Hills. With more than 12 acres, the farm has been in business for more than 40 years.

Unlike a lot of farms these days, the main focus is the “choose and cut” option. That allows guests to be able to explore the fields, select their own tree, and cut it down with the saw given to them at the entrance.  “Yeah used to be I think in the early days, they would just come out and cut a tree and go. Nowadays, it seems like they want to stay here longer,” said Paul Illingworth, the former owner of the farm. He now serves as a consultant there. “They want the experience of walking around in the forest. That’s as important to them as actually getting the tree.”

According to the latest survey from the American Christmas Tree Association, more than 80% of households that planned to buy Christmas trees this year were going to get an artificial one. That’s a trend that’s been fairly steady over the last decade. Illingworth said the number of Christmas Tree farms has been dwindling in the Bay Area – owners are getting older, climate change is impacting trees, and labor costs are higher and higher.

The Sounds Of Christmas In The Adobes

The holiday season attracts crowds everywhere and Old Monterey is a shoe-in for tourist traffic. Earlier this month, nearly 2,000 people meandered through the streets of downtown Monterey for Christmas in the Adobes.

“You see people out on the streets, and there’s a little crowd and everyone’s got a map,” said Polina Spakovsky, who drove down from San Jose with her mother for the event “It’s so cute. And it does make you feel like you’re a part of a big activity.” The annual self-guided walking tour is the Monterey State Historic Park Association’s largest fundraiser. Proceeds support year-round education and restoration projects related to the historic structures scattered throughout Old Monterey that make up the Monterey State Historic Park.

In addition to these state-run buildings, privately-owned historic structures—some of which aren’t usually accessible to the public—also open their doors for Christmas in the Adobes. “Monterey’s Path of History is one of the oldest historic walking trails in the country,” said State Parks Interpreter Aaron Gilmartin. “To have 25 locations open to the public for these two nights, across a dozen different organizations, is unprecedented.”

Fate Of Proposition 50 In Judge’s Hands

Closing arguments wrapped up Wednesday in a lawsuit over California’s Proposition 50, which was approved by voters in November.

The case was brought by the California Republican Party, with support from the Trump administration. The GOP claims the congressional maps approved by state voters are unconstitutional because they illegally benefit Latino voters.

State officials argue the maps were clearly presented to voters as a way to give Democrats an advantage in the upcoming midterms. Democratic leaders wrote the measure after President Trump urged Texas to redraw its maps to benefit the GOP.

The U.S. Supreme Court has held that states may gerrymander districts for partisan, but not racial, purposes. The high court recently allowed the Texas maps to stay in place.