Anderson, one of the 10 reindeer at The Reindeer Farm at 2541 Old Union Church Road. Anderson, born in May, is the only reindeer to be born on the farm. 

For Russell and Jessica Anderson, owners of The Reindeer Farm at 2541 Old Union Church Road, the dream of owning the farm became a reality after the couple had a conversation about spending more time together as a family.

“It really started after Russell took a new job on third shift,” Jessica Anderson said.

She said her husband hated not being at home, so they had a conversation about being present and having more purposeful time together as a family.

“We had three children in three and a half years, so this was a family decision,” she said. “We wanted to find something we love to do and something we could do together as a family.”

Anderson said one of the first things that came to her mind was how much she loved Christmas and how she had always wanted to raise her family on a farm, which led to the idea of a reindeer farm.

“It was something we could do together as a family and it’s unique for us and our kids,” she said.

The process to get the farm going would take a lot of time, she said, and “Russell politely said it probably wouldn’t work.”

But, she began doing research and contacting other farmers.

“Every state has a different law and different requirements,” she said. “It took us four yours to get the farm after working with the state of Kentucky, but I’m thankful it happened the way it did because it gave us time to do our research and to become more hands on.”

She said that every day, “we can see the deer from our living room window, so the farm is fully integrated into our everyday life.”

Her children, Aniston Bree, 11; Ashton Gail, 9; and Russell Clark, 7, all pitch in to help.

“This is our third year in operation, but our fourth holiday season,” she said.

Currently, the farm is home to ten reindeer, including Blitzen, Rudolph, Fireball, Mistletoe, Clarice, Snowball, Sprinkles and Anderson, “our baby born in May and the only reindeer born on our farm.”

Nitro Christmas, age 7 months and the future head sire, is the newest deer added to the farm, although he was not born there.

“We also have Flea, who was named that because she was as small as a flea when she was born,” Anderson said.

She said the farm is pretty seasonal in its operation, although they are also available by appointment only year-round.

“We start our season the weekend before Thanksgiving and depending on how the calendar falls, we operate through Dec. 23,” she said.

The farm has already had a variety of activities, including live ice sculpting with Danny Kissel, live woodcarving, cookie decorating and visits from Elsa and Anna from “Frozen” and Miss Kentucky.

From Nov. 17-Dec. 17, the farm is open on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, but they are open every day from Dec. 18-23.

Visitors can purchase tickets for a Day Pass or a Reindeer Encounter plus a Day Pass.

The Day Pass, which is $15 for ages 3 and over and free for children ages 2 and under, can be purchased online or at the door and is good for the whole day.

Included in the Day Pass are visits with the reindeer from outside the enclosure, alpacas, mini cows, mini horses, mini donkeys, mini pigs, holland lop rabbits, chickens, and Mack the Mule. Guests can also plan a visit to the gift shop, write letters to Santa, play holiday-themed games, watch Christmas movies, listen to Christmas music and play cornhole.

There are many photo opportunities, The Reindeer Farm food truck and kids can ride the Reindeer Express.

Anderson said The Reindeer Encounter + Day Pass, which includes everything the Day Pass has but comes with a scheduled 30 minute reindeer encounter, needs to be purchased in advance on the website. The cost for the Reindeer Encounter is $35.

“For the reindeer encounter, you get 30 minutes inside the pen and will hear a little educational and safety talk,” Anderson said. “You can get photos with the reindeer and you can even pet Flea. She loves people. I’m not even sure she knows she’s a reindeer.”

Anderson said attendance has grown every year since they began operating.

The farm first opened during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, but Anderson said that opening during that time was “really a blessing to us and to a lot of people.”

Because of COVID restrictions, most indoor activities were not allowed, so people were turning to outdoor activities.

“Because the farm was outside, people who felt safe and ready to come out and do things could do so in a safe manner,” she said. “It was actually a blessing to us because I was happy to see people out and actually enjoying themselves.”

Anderson said as far as the future of the farm, she would like to run the farm as long as she and her husband are able.

“It brings me joy to see folks together and to know that Russell and I can provide this experience to people,” she said. “And I hope that our children will continue working on the farm at some capacity.”

As far as expanding the farm, Anderson said they began with only two reindeer and have continued to add to the farm each year.

“We always look toward the future and what else we can offer the community,” she said, adding that it really comes down to time. “Everything we have done at the farm, Russell and I have built.”

She said that anyone interested in the reindeer and who want to keep up with them year-round can follow the farm on their social media pages, which also includes educational information about reindeer.

“One interesting fact that people may not realize is that the reindeer’s antlers fall off and grow back every year, so you can watch the process on our social media pages,” she said. “Reindeer are such magical creatures, even outside of the Christmas holiday, and we try to be really engaging with people. I love it when people ask questions and we can comment back.”

For more information about The Reindeer Farm, visit thereindeerfarm.com or their Facebook and Instagram pages.