Meet Santa’s reindeer and the family farm that raises them.
Sara Prescott and her husband, Michael, had been cattle ranchers for their entire lives, but a visit to a reindeer farm in Illinois changed everything. After interacting with the reindeer, seeing them connect with visitors, and learning more about their species, Sara was intrigued and inspired by the prospect of one day raising her own reindeer.
A move to Vanzant furthered Sara’s desire to own and care for reindeer. “When our family moved here, we wanted to allow people to come out, and just really learn about livestock and agriculture,” Sara says.
Being new to the area, the Prescotts didn’t want to copy the offerings of other family farms and desired to create original experiences for families. “It seemed like there was a real need for Christmas activities,” Sara says. The purchase of Sara’s reindeer inspired her grandest idea yet: creating a full-blown annual family Christmas event. This is when the Prescott Family Reindeer Farm came to life.
Upon arrival to the farm, visitors will be transported straight into a winter wonderland. “We do just about each and every thing that’s on those Christmas tradition lists,” Sara says. “Michael and I both agreed that if we’re going to do this, we have to offer a full Christmas experience. It’s not just coming to the farm just to see a reindeer and leaving.”
Though the reindeer are the stars of the show, families can enjoy a plethora of Christmas activities including meeting Santa and Mrs. Claus, playing Christmas games, visiting other farm animals, and enjoying hot cocoa and cookies. Guests can also hop on carriage rides, have their faces painted, or browse the gift shop. The Prescotts pride themselves on creating a fun family atmosphere that guests will want to return to annually.
“I really built this place for moms,” Sara says. “Throughout the farm, we probably have fifteen places for you to take your picture with the family, because what we want to do is create a tradition. I want families to be able to come back year after year and create memories.”
Sara, her husband, and her three kids run the farm year-round, taking care of the animals, doing daily chores, and managing necessary farm upkeep. As the Christmas season approaches, the family hires 15 to 20 employees to help them run the Christmas event—mostly local townspeople and high school kids involved in the Future Farmers of America chapters and the local 4-H.
Though the Prescotts don’t open their farm for Christmas experiences until late November, they celebrate “Christmas in July” as they begin their mid-summer preparations for the holiday season. “Around July time, we really start painting props, cutting things out, and start to design all the new things that will be added. Around October we start to decorate the farm. Every year we pull everything down, and every year we reset it all up,” Sara explains.
For the Prescott family, there is nothing better than seeing the excitement of the kids as they enter the magical Christmas farm.
“Just to see the excitement in the kids’ faces after they come around there … I mean, that is just worth its weight in gold,” Sara says. “They can’t wait to see Santa and Mrs. Claus or the reindeer, and their eyes just light up.”
The daily chores and labor of running a farm aren’t easy, but Sara says that seeing her own kids embrace their family business makes every moment of the hard work worth it. “There’s a definite proud moment when my kids get to share their animals, their story, and visit with people,” Sara says.
For more information, visit PrescottFamilyReindeerFarm.com or Prescott Family Reindeer Farm on Facebook.
This article was originally published in the November/December 2024 edition of Missouri Life.
