SLINGER — As the Thanksgiving leftovers head into the fridge, the Christmas tree lots and farms are opening up around SE Wisconsin. In Slinger, two sisters decided to make their Hallmark dreams a reality and open up their own Christmas tree business.
Krista and Kara grew up on a dairy farm and spent a lot of Christmas day doing farm chores.
"Growing up on a farm on Christmas you're always working and doing all the things outside that you don't necessarily think about at the holidays," Krista said. "The one thing that we always did with our parents, is we watched Hallmark Christmas movies."
The sisters carried that tradition with them. When their mom passed away from cancer four years ago, they decided to honor those memories by making Hallmark real life.
"Her word of the year when she passed away was 'inspired.' And so that's how we came up with Inspirations Acres," Krista said.
Inspiration Acres is their Christmas tree lot and artisan market. The trees are from Wisconsin and harvested by Krista and Kara. In the market, they sell goods from 30 local vendors.
In addition to spreading Christmas cheer, they also give back to the community. This year they're donating a portion of their proceeds to Cory's Project, which supports kids diagnosed with cancer and their families.
"Cory's Project is just near and dear to our heart because we never wish that on anybody," Krista said.
Eventually, they hope to take the Christmas tree business back to a farm and their childhood roots.
The Christmas tree lot opens at 9 a.m. on Friday and will be open for three weekends.
