In Fremont, California, the Ardenwood Historic Farm has operated in the same manner more or less for more than a century. Recently, the farm hosted local children from the area to come and experience farm life for a day.

A walk through the farm last weekend brought images right out of the early 1900s as children made corn-husk dolls stuffed with wool and wove popcorn and cranberries on strings - Christmas decorations inspired by farm life history. Trent Pearce, an Ardenwood naturalist, told the Oakland Tribune that he thought that the event was a resounding success, noting that "visitors get to take something home with them and it's not necessarily something you can find in a store."

After kids and adults alike were finished with the various activities, they were treated to foods prepared at an outdoor kitchen that offered farm goods, like corn and walnuts, spruced up into tasty treats like cookies and candied nuts. The main draw of the day, the Yule log hunt, is a tradition that pitted the kids against one another to find the biggest log on the farm: legend has it that whoever does will have good luck in the coming year.

While many of the kids wanted to ride on the John Deere farm equipment, the day's activities were mostly hands-on and educational. Undoubtedly, both the parents and their children had a fun time: as one mother put it, on the farm "you always get to do something new."