There's a 24-inch balsam wreath waiting on a table in a pondside tent at Woodcock Nature Center, with a fire going nearby and a pile of decorating materials beside it. A few miles away on Hurlbutt Street, Ambler Farm's Greens Sale will have freshly cut trees, hot cider and the same kind of fire. Neither event begins before the last weekend of November.
You make most of the choices that shape both of them now, in early November. Wilton's two best-known holiday traditions are fundraisers run by nonprofits, and both have fixed capacity. Woodcock's Wreath Festival hosts about 1,000 guests and raises more than $90,000 for the nature center's environmental education programs, GOOD Morning Wilton reported on Oct. 21. Ambler Farm calls its Greens Sale one of its biggest fundraisers of the year, and it runs on volunteer shifts. Events like these sell what they have in advance, so the calendar that counts starts this week.
Until Nov. 15, you can choose your tree first
Ambler Farm's online pre-order window opened Sunday, Nov. 1, and closes Sunday, Nov. 15. From this Thursday, Nov. 5, that leaves ten days.
Pre-ordering gets you a time slot before the public sale opens. Pickup runs Saturday, Nov. 28, from 9 a.m. to noon, and the farm says that window "allows you to choose your tree before we open to the public." General sales begin at noon that day.
The farm's 2026 event pages don't list tree species or prices. For anything specific, Andrea Bates is the contact at [email protected]. The Ambler Shop will be open during the sale, with farm gifts and Ambler syrup.
The sale relies on volunteers to help families pick out trees, run sales and merchandise, handle pre-order pickup and load trees. Adults and youth 14 and older can sign up for shifts through the Greens Sale page.
Woodcock's wreath tickets are already selling
Woodcock Nature Center at 56 Deer Run Road has its own reason for urgency. Every in-person guest needs an advance ticket, refunds and exchanges aren't offered, and spectators can't be accommodated. The group pavilion slots, which take 15 to 18 people, were already full by late October, according to GOOD Morning Wilton.
These are the formats on Woodcock's 2026 ticket pages:
| Format | Who it's for | Price | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Individual pondside session | Ages 21+, up to 2.5 hours | $90 daytime, $100 evening, plus a service charge | Dec. 1 through Dec. 11, day and evening sessions |
| Family Day | All ages, alcohol-free | $100 for one wreath and up to four family members; $75 for an extra wreath, if available | Dec. 12–13, at 10 a.m., noon or 2 p.m. |
| To-go kit | Decorate at home | $85 per kit, limit five | Pickup Nov. 24, Dec. 1 or Dec. 6 |
| Pondside group | Up to 15 guests, max 18 | $1,425 daytime, $1,575 evening, plus a per-guest charge above 15 | Dec. 6, 7, 10 and 11 |
The to-go kit is the most flexible choice. It includes the 24-inch balsam wreath and decorating materials in a Woodcock tote, and you pick a Spiced Cider or Peppermint Tea theme plus a bow. A glue gun isn't included. Kits aren't shipped, so pickup is in person only, on Tuesday, Nov. 24, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Tuesday, Dec. 1, from 2 to 4 p.m.; or Sunday, Dec. 6, from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m.
Family Day includes kid-friendly materials, music, cider and treats. It's also the only in-person format open to anyone under 21.
The calendar runs from Thanksgiving week to mid-December
Once the deadlines are behind you, the season itself is easy to follow. Each event leads into the next:
- Sunday, Nov. 15. Ambler Farm's Greens Sale pre-order closes.
- Monday, Nov. 23, 1 to 7 p.m. Ambler Farm's Thanksgiving Farm Stand sells seasonal produce and farm goods in the White Carriage Barn.
- Tuesday, Nov. 24, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. First Woodcock to-go kit pickup.
- Thanksgiving Day. Ambler Farm lists a Thanksgiving Day trebuchet among its annual traditions. The farm hasn't posted a 2026 time yet.
- Saturday, Nov. 28, and Sunday, Nov. 29. The first Greens Sale weekend. Pre-order pickup runs 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, general sales noon to 4 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.
- Monday, Nov. 30. The Wreath Festival opens at Woodcock.
- Friday, Dec. 4, through Sunday, Dec. 6. The busiest weekend of the season, covered below.
- Saturday, Dec. 12, and Sunday, Dec. 13. Woodcock's Family Days end the festival.
Thanksgiving week holds more than it first appears to. The farm stand on Monday and the first kit pickup on Tuesday fall back to back, before the holiday.
Friday, Dec. 4, to Sunday, Dec. 6
All of the season's major threads overlap on this single weekend. If your household only has one free weekend in December, this one offers the most.
Friday. Woodcock's individual daytime sessions run from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Later, the Wilton Chamber of Commerce holds its Holiday Stroll in Wilton Center from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. Kimco Realty sponsors it, and it happens rain or shine. The Chamber says the full lineup will be posted soon. The 2025 Stroll included a 5:45 p.m. tree lighting on the Town Green. That's last year's program, and the 2026 listing doesn't mention a lighting yet.
Saturday. The second Greens Sale weekend opens with Ambler Farm's longest hours of the season, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Woodcock has individual pondside sessions from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and from 1 to 3:30 p.m. Hurlbutt Street in the morning and Deer Run Road in the afternoon fit easily into one day.
Sunday. The Greens Sale runs from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., its final day. At Woodcock, individual sessions repeat in the morning and afternoon, a pondside group session runs from 1 to 3:30 p.m., and the last to-go kit pickup is from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. Woodcock also lists an 8 to 10:30 p.m. session for both individuals and groups. The Sunday evening entry on the individual ticket page has a garbled date, so check it on the ticket page before you buy.
If you skip the November pre-order, this is the last weekend to get a tree from Ambler Farm.
Getting to Hurlbutt Street this year
The second Greens Sale weekend has a logistics wrinkle worth planning around. Cannon Road has been closed between the Metro-North tracks and Pimpewaug Road since June 3, 2026, for a bridge reconstruction the Town estimated at about 18 months. The Town's detour map sends Cannon Road traffic along Hurlbutt Street, Danbury Road and Sharp Hill Road, which is Route 106. Ambler Farm is at 257 Hurlbutt Street.
Honey Hill Road is also closed between Route 7 and the Metro-North tracks, with a detour via Danbury Road, Wampum Hill Road and Seeley Road. Traffic studies show roughly three times the previous volume on Pimpewaug Road since the detours began, and town officials have asked the state for a temporary light at Pimpewaug and Route 7, GOOD Morning Wilton reported on Oct. 21. On Sept. 25, the same outlet reported that both bridge projects were on track to finish by Nov. 30, 2027. That means both closures will be in place for this entire holiday season.
The Friday Stroll followed by Saturday morning on the farm is the busiest stretch of the season. Give yourself some extra time for that drive.
If the holidays have you thinking about how your own calendar and plans might shift next year, I'm always glad to talk them through with neighbors. Schedule a personalized consultation with Linda Dunsmore, and I'll see you at the Greens Sale.
