At The Rocks ~ Trees for Troops by the numbers

The Christmas tree has long been an integral symbol of the season. Somehow, it just doesn’t feel like Christmas until there’s a fragrant fir tree standing inside the house, adorned with lights and colors, a centerpiece of the holiday decorations.

Fifth graders and combat vets help load trees.

(Read about the history of the Christmas tree in our Blog post on Christmas tree trivia.)

For more than a decade, the Christmas SPIRIT Foundation, a charitable arm of the National Christmas Tree Association, has been delivering Christmas trees and the joy they impart to members of the United States military and their families – serving both at home and abroad.

This week, as has become tradition, students from Bethlehem Elementary School came to The Rocks Estate to help load Christmas trees that will be delivered across the country and perhaps beyond. Each tree holds a note, written by the students, of thanks and good cheer.

Here, Trees for Troops by the numbers:

2005

Year the Christmas SPIRIT Foundation and FedEx

first teamed up to deliver Christmas trees

to U.S. service members and their families

______________________________________

11

Number of years The Rocks

has participated in the

Trees for Troops program

_____________________________________

157,263

Christmas trees delivered by

Trees for Troops from the program’s

inception through 2014

___________________________________

450

Christmas trees donated through

New Hampshire and

Vermont tree farms this year

__________________________________

25

Happy 5^th graders helping to

load those 450 trees into the

 FedEx truck at The Rocks December 1^st

____________________________________

573,493

FedEx miles traveled (all donated)

to deliver Trees for Troops

Christmas trees through 2014

_____________________________________

21,000

Farm-grown Christmas trees expected to

be donated this year by

400 tree farms in 25 states

If you’d like to help The Rocks and Trees for Troops spread holiday cheer, one tree at a time, visit the Christmas SPIRIT Foundation website, where you may learn about the history of the program, as well as make a donation to Trees for Troops. 

To see a video clip of this week's loading of the trees, check out WMUR-TV's coverage. 

NH viewers and readers agree: The Rocks is tops in Christmas trees!

We take a lot of pride at The Rocks Estate in providing a complete holiday experience. So it was great to see The Rocks land near the top of the WMUR-TV list of viewers’ favorite New Hampshire tree farms (in the third spot) and at the tippety top of the Union Leader Readers' Choice polling!

But we’re not resting on our laurels… This season we’re bringing back the time-tested festivities our customers love so much that many of them have been returning to The Rocks for countless years’ worth of Christmas trees and holiday cheer.

That means horse-drawn carriage rides through the historic Rocks Estate property, roasting marshmallows around the fire pit, and – of course – meandering through the fields at the farm in search of that perfect Christmas tree to cut and bring home.

We’ll also be visited by a more recent favorite to The Rocks: our own Green Father Christmas, who will give fir tree seedlings to children. And our two shops – The Rocks Marketplace and the Farm Store – are chockfull of fantastic gifts, fabulous decorations, and festive cheer for the holidays.

The Rocks Marketplace

If you’ve been to The Rocks before, we hope you agree with WMUR-TV viewers and the folks who read the Union Leader. And we hope to see you again soon! If you haven’t visited us at The Rocks Estate, we invite you to come by this holiday season and see what all the fuss is about.

Our two shops are open daily from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Our cut-your-own Christmas tree season (and retail tree sales) begins Nov. 22. The holiday cheer, of course, is served up all day, every day!