Outlaw Farm Alpacas, 35915 Law Road in Grafton, will be hosting its last holiday open house of the season from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Dec. 23.
Co-owner Jennifer Mesar said this is the farm’s third year hosting a holiday open house, but the first hosting it every Saturday in December.
“We just open it up to the public free of charge and they can come in and interact with the alpacas, pet them, feed them, take pictures, whatever they wish,” she said. “They’re gentle, they’re sweet, they’re loving.
“People really enjoy just being able to spend time with the animals, and then of course Santa is a big attraction as well.”
Mesar said it does take alpacas time to get used to human interaction, however hers are “very used to it now.”
“They’re very calming animals. They are very curious but very reserved at the same time,” she said. “So it does take a lot of interaction with people to get them to be used to being touched and petted.”
Along with the learning about alpacas, guests can visit with Santa, Mrs. Claus, the Grinch and elves in the farm’s shop, where they can also find items for purchase, hot chocolate and cookies.
Items for purchase include hats, headbands, nesting balls, dryer balls, gloves, socks and stuffed animals, all made from yarn derived of fleece from Mesar’s alpacas.
Mesar said this year’s holiday open houses have been successful thanks to the community — and the nice weather this month.
“It’s been very well received. Last weekend was probably one of our biggest weekends we’ve ever had,” she said. “They (guests) enjoy the experience.”
Outlaw Farm Alpaca’s participated in National Alpaca Farm Days by hosting their first open house on those days, kickstarting a tradition for the farm that now occurs annually in July, according to Mesar.
“We get a lot of people that come back, some of them have come back more than once already in December,” she said. “But they’ll come to every open house that we have.”
Overall, Mesar said one goal of the farm is just to introduce people to alpacas and show how enjoyable they are to be around due to their calming nature.
“Our goal I think is just to get people to learn more about them, to really appreciate the kind of animal they are,” she said. “They’re very therapeutic for sure.”
Mesar said the family started with four alpacas in 2019 and have since gained many more, some of which are being entered in shows.
“When we bought this farm, it just was the perfect opportunity to finally get our own so we started with four and since have a acquired many more,” she said. “We’re at 32.”
For more information on the farm, visit outlawfarmalpacas.com.
