Local Goodies to Get You Through the Holidays

If you haven’t yet experienced the locavore movement, the holidays are a great time to shop your local farms and farmer markets, many of which still have bountiful offerings throughout the fall and into Christmastime.

The berries of summer may be long gone, but from wineries to tree farms, Connecticut boasts a bevy of local growers and food producers where you can get your Thanksgiving turkey, freshly made pies, Christmas trees and even holiday gifts.

Don’t have time to bake that special pie for your family’s Thanksgiving gathering? Don’t fret. At Lyman Orchards in Middlefield it’s pie time at the pick-your-own farm, where they have a virtual cornucopia of pies to choose from in the farm store, which is open year-round.

Some of the freshly made pies Lyman’s offers include mile-high apple, bumbleberry, caramel apple walnut, blueberry, apple crumb and cherry, to name a few.

Still need the turkey as well for your holiday meal? You can get a freshly raised gobbler at Gozzi’s Turkey Farm in Guilford. There are several other turkey farms in Connecticut for locavores to choose from, including Ekonk Hill Turkey Farm in Franklin and Hurricane Farm in Scotland.

If you’re looking for a special cut of meat for your Christmas feast, there are also dozens of farms throughout the state, and several nearby, where you can buy beef from grass-fed and humanely raised cattle.

At Deerfield Farm in Durham, for instance, the farm boasts a variety of meat and dairy products, including farm-raised veal, yogurt, milk and hand crafted milk soaps. At Highland Art Farm in Marlborough you can get 100 percent grass fed beef as well as pork products from organically fed pigs.  Highland Art Farm also boasts that all of its animal products are

With the explosion of Connecticut wineries that have opened in recent years you also have numerous choices where you can buy that special bottle, or bottles, of wine for Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner.

There’s Priam Vineyards in Colchester, Gouveia Vineyards and Paradise Hills Vineyard, both in Wallingford, and Chamard Vineyards in Clinton. At this time of year most have at least weekend hours through Christmas.

In East Haddam the is in full swing, selling everything from pumpkin Italian ices to Christmas wreaths.

Numerous local sellers and farmers will have stands at the indoor market, which takes place every Tuesday from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m., including Bogue and Wellstone farms, (both of which are still selling fall fruits and vegetables, among other things), Bakers Dozen, Chet’s Italian Ice and Cato Corner farms.

Once we’re all sated from our Thanksgiving turkey, we can turn our attention to finding that perfect Christmas tree. Luckily, there are numerous places this holiday season to cut your own fresh tree including Staehly Farms in East Haddam, Hrubiec Farms in Kensington, Craftsbury Christmas Tree Farm in Durham, the Lost Spring Farm in East Hampton, Oak Ridge Tree Farm in Middletown, the Leavenworth Tree Farm in Cheshire and Rose’s Berry Farm in Glastonbury.

Most of the farms also sell wreaths and other Christmas-related items, such as ornaments and lights.

If you don’t feel like doing a Paul Bunyan act, however, there are plenty of local farm stands that transition from selling summer and fall produce to holiday fare at this time of year, including Fair Weather Acres in Rocky Hill. In the winter, the four-season stand at the farm is closed in and heated, and the farm sells a wide array of Christmas and seasonal goods, including wreaths, Christmas trees, garlands, gifts and local baked goods.

At Paul’s and Sandy’s Too in East Hampton the operators of this locally-owned Route 66 landmark have barely put away the denizens and buildings of Pumpkintown for the season before they’re hauling out all the Christmas ornaments and setting up the tree wrapping apparatus in their side yard for the hundreds of freshly cut local trees they’ll be selling over the next month. Inside the garden center’s store are a variety of Christmas-related goods and necessities, including lights, tree stands and wreaths.