The adult volunteers from San Jose real estate firm Colliers Parrish had been waiting patiently for the second-graders, and everyone was worried about the weather. So just to be on the safe side, a "no-rain dance" materialized when the two groups finally got together. It seemed to do the trick—the morning turned out to be surprisingly clear.

Way off the beaten track and along tree-studded, winding back roads, Patchen Christmas Tree Farm was hosting its annual holiday event for the second-graders. It was part educational enrichment mixed with a lot of old-fashioned fun. Around 80 children assembled in a grassy area surrounded by Sierra redwoods, Monterey pine and Douglas fir—all future Christmas trees. They discussed how the trees were grown and the art of planting, harvesting and caring for them. Voices could be heard in multiple languages, English and Spanish, with many of the adults translating back and forth.

Jeff Fredericks of Los Gatos, managing partner of the San Jose office of Colliers, initiated the field trip seven years ago in partnership with his father-in-law, Jim Beck, who owns the Christmas tree farm. Colliers had been doing other volunteer work with the school. In previous years employees had provided reading assistance, and the company's founder, J.R. Parrish, who is now retired, personally mentored many of the students in self-improvement and goal-realization techniques for years. So this was an extension of the partnership between the two.

After the mini-lesson in forestry, the children were divided into groups of five or six, with a volunteer from Colliers as a guide. Each group was instructed to cut down two trees, indicated by a yellow ribbon on the tree. Then everyone dispersed in their respective quests for the perfect tree. There was much discussion before a group consensus was reached as to the proper fullness and height; a particularly fat one was bypassed, as was another thought too skinny. Then the sawing began, with the cutters being careful to leave the three or four branches on the bottom for future growth as instructed.

"This is easy," declared Elyssa Areralo, who soon lost interest in the sawing by adults and was distracted by all the mud around.

A lot of the children had never been to a Christmas tree farm, or even out of the city, said Fredericks, so that in itself was a real treat. Hester Elementary has a predominantly Hispanic enrollment in which about 70 percent of the students are disadvantaged. The students have made great strides academically, though, having boosted the school's Academic Performance Index score 91 points between 2001 and 2002 and attaining all of its state-set objectives on the STAR in 2003.

"These kids are mostly from poor families," said Beck. "What they need most is to know that somebody cares." Not that anyone's complaining or that it's hard work: "This is one of those events where the adults have more fun than the kids," he added.

Jose Perez answered readily about what he liked the most: "It was fun because we got say 'timmm-burrr.'" He was immensely pleased with his accomplishment, too—holding the tree during the sawing process.

Patchen Christmas Tree Farm is located in Patchen, at least what's left of the town. It's officially one of five ghost towns set in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Once a thriving community, the town was cut off after the completion of Highway 17 in the 1940s. The current owner of the farm, Jim Beck, has been acquiring the land piece by piece throughout the years and converting it to its current status as a Christmas tree farm to protect the area from future development.

Each child received a Sierra redwood tree in a one-gallon container to bring home. Sierra redwoods, while ordinarily not thought of as Christmas trees, actually hold ornaments really well, said Beck. "Occasionally, when reading to the older group, I'll ask how many still have their tree; usually about a [third of them] have them," said Fredericks.

There was understandably much talk of Christmas and Santa throughout the day. Ashley Cach, when asked what she wanted for Christmas, said, "I already forgot what I put on my list."

Around 150 Christmas trees were also donated to the school for families who couldn't afford one. These were set aside in advance, said Beck, because the farm always sells out of trees before the tree-cutting season is over. These were loaded onto a truck and brought down to the school. Beck also donates many other trees to churches, retirement communities and nonprofit organizations.

Colliers employee Steve Hunt of Los Gatos has volunteered every year since the program began. He recalled one year in particular and a family that had received one of the donated Christmas trees. They had never had one before and bought boxes of colored cereal oats to string as decorations. He wouldn't miss the outing and treasures his time with the children.

After all the designated trees were cut and hauled away, everyone assembled once again to choose their potted trees and write their names on them. Since the soil was dry despite the drizzle, they were advised to water their plant first and then wash up for cookies and milk since "nobody wants to mix cookies and dirt," as one adult yelled out.

Many groups supported the holiday effort. Carman's Nursery of Los Gatos supplied the potted Christmas trees at a nominal cost, the truck to haul the trees down was donated by A-Rental in Los Gatos and Starbucks helped out the adults with coffee. The volunteers from Colliers pitched in to buy the cookies.

"All of the children look forward to their turn," said Hester's Lonna Bennett, a 26-year teaching veteran. Some are even lucky enough to go twice if they're in a combination class, like Raymond Cardenas. He went as a first-grader last year and was happy to go along again. The children's parents were also pleased with the event, said the teachers.

"I'll make you a deal," shouted out Fredericks from his post on top of the picnic table. "I'll give you a candy cane for some singing." There was a resounding call of "yes" from the group. Soon teacher Carol Gurtski was leading the children in songs. They sang carols like "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" in both Spanish and English, along with traditional Spanish carols like "A La Nanita Nana."

They also sang the carol "Fum, Fum, Fum," a traditional Catalonian melody, which has been popularized in the United States. After a vote from the adult audience, this year's singing was deemed the best ever.

Although a visit from Santa is usually part of the trip, unfortunately this year he was unable to attend since Mrs. Claus unwittingly took his suit to the cleaners. But it didn't seem to matter to the children.

"Thank you, Mr. Beck," said the children graciously at the end. Everyone was instructed to place a potted plant on the truck—not necessarily their own plant, since they all would end up at the same place. But even still, most made an effort to find their very own Christmas tree.

And Mr. Beck bid them goodbye with a nod of his head and a twinkle in his eye. Maybe Santa Claus was there after all.