A 30-year family farm with a genuinely distinctive drive-your-own-car setup and a firm cash-only policy, growing Leyland cypress exclusively, though no pricing was found anywhere.
Cash only. This farm doesn't take cards, based on what we found — bring cash or confirm ahead if that's changed.
Christmas Memories Tree Farm, run by Terry and Sherry Pigott for more than 30 years just off I-55 between Fernwood and Magnolia, does something genuinely different from most farms in this batch: instead of parking and walking a field, visitors drive their own vehicle down farm roads given Christmas-themed names — Jingle Bell Drive, Sleigh Road — through rolling, wooded terrain to reach the trees. Once there, you’re handed a saw to cut a Leyland cypress on the spot.
It would be easy to read “drive-your-own-car through named roads” as a cute detail invented for a brochure, but this comes directly from the research notes describing the actual visitor experience, not from an assumption. It changes the practical shape of a visit: less walking, potentially less time overall, and a different feel than the hayride-to-the-field model common at other farms in this file. If uneven walking terrain is a concern for anyone in your group, being able to drive most of the way to the tree is worth knowing about, though this record doesn’t make any explicit accessibility claim — it’s a reasonable inference from how the visit is structured, not a stated feature.
Christmas Memories grows Leyland cypress exclusively — no fir varieties are mentioned in any source, which is consistent with the broader pattern in this batch of Mississippi farms favoring warm-climate cypress and cedar over trucked-in fir. The farm was formerly known as “Balser Tree Farm,” a name change worth knowing if you come across the older name in an older listing or a family member’s memory of visiting years ago.
The one detail specifically flagged in the research as worth calling out: this is a cash-only operation. That’s a real trip-planning fact, not a minor footnote, especially since several of the larger, more commercialized farms elsewhere in this batch have moved to accepting cards. If you’re used to tapping a card at the farm down the road, budget time to hit an ATM before you arrive here.
As with much of this batch, there’s no price_from or price_note on file for this farm, so no dollar figure can be responsibly offered — not a typical range, not an estimate. Given the cash-only policy, it’s worth calling 601-248-2229 ahead of time not just to ask the price but to make sure you’re bringing enough cash to cover it, since running short at a rural cash-only farm with no card backup is a genuinely inconvenient way to end a visit.
The most recent listing gives weekday hours of 2-5pm, Saturday 9am-5pm, and Sunday 11am-5pm, with the farm opening on Thanksgiving Day itself. These weren’t separately reconfirmed for 2026, so treat them as the best available starting point rather than a locked schedule.
The honest bottom line: Christmas Memories offers a genuinely distinctive drive-to-your-tree experience and three decades of family operation behind it, but come with cash in hand and don’t expect a species choice beyond Leyland cypress.
The farm opens Thanksgiving Day itself, then runs weekdays 2-5pm, Saturday 9am-5pm, and Sunday 11am-5pm, per the most recent listing checked. A weekday afternoon should be quieter than the wider Saturday window.
Because you drive your own vehicle down named farm roads (Jingle Bell Drive, Sleigh Road) to reach the trees rather than walking or riding a hayride, this can be a relatively efficient visit once you're past any line at the entrance — but no time estimate is stated directly.
Not stated directly in the record.
Not described in the record, though the drive-your-own-vehicle setup down named farm roads suggests parking happens near the trees themselves rather than in a central lot you walk from.
Not addressed in any source checked, though driving directly to the tree field rather than walking may be an easier option for visitors who have difficulty walking long distances on uneven ground — this is a reasonable inference from the setup, not a stated accessibility feature.
Skip Christmas Memories if you don't have cash on hand, since the farm is confirmed cash-only, and skip it if you want a choice of tree species, since Leyland cypress is the only variety grown here.
Not available in the record checked.
Yes. Cash-only payment was specifically noted for this farm, unlike several larger operations in this area that now accept cards.
Rather than walking a field, visitors drive their own vehicle down farm roads with Christmas-themed names — Jingle Bell Drive, Sleigh Road — through rolling, wooded terrain to reach the trees, then are handed a saw to cut on the spot.
Leyland cypress exclusively. No fir or other varieties are mentioned in any source.
No pricing information was found anywhere. Call 601-248-2229 to confirm before you go.
2026 dates had not been published when we last checked. In past seasons it has run: Thanksgiving Day, then Mon-Fri 2-5pm, Sat 9am-5pm, Sun 11am-5pm. Check with the farm before driving out.
Pricing was not published when we last checked.
Yes. It's cut-your-own, and a saw is provided.
1101 New Home Road, Magnolia, MS 39652, in Pike County. It is one of 8 farms we track in Southwest MS.
We track 8 farms in Southwest MS, 6 of which let you cut your own tree. The farm has not published a starting price, so it cannot be compared on cost — call before you budget.
What sets it apart locally: it has a hayride or sleigh ride, wreaths and garland for sale, free netting/baling, which most Southwest MS farms on our list do not.
One caveat worth repeating: this farm had not published its 2026 dates when we last checked, while 2 of the 8 farms we track in Southwest MS had. Treat any date you see elsewhere as last year's until the farm confirms it.
There are 3 other farms we track in Pike County. All Southwest MS farms →
christmasmemoriestreefarm.com · pickyourownchristmastree.org · mschristmastrees.com
Checked September 2026.