The holiday season has gotten off to a rocky start for the owner of a farm market in Loudoun County, Virginia.
Paige Critchley, the owner of Paige's Pit Stop in Waterford, said someone snuck onto her farm and stole some of her Christmas trees last week.
"We realized that there were six trees missing," Critchley said. "I was just more upset that they came onto my personal property and violated me, more than anything, you know. If someone needed a tree, I’d be happy to give them one."
Critchley said when she shared the news about the theft, generous customers offered to give her the money she’d lost.
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But she had a better idea.
"I said, 'No, let’s turn this around, and we’ll go ahead and just donate a tree,"' Critchley said.
So far, she and her customers have donated five of her Fraser firs to families in need.
"It feels great. I love helping the community any way I can. So, it felt great," she said.
All the donors wanted to stay anonymous.
Critchley had a message for whoever took her Frasier firs.
"They’ll get coal in their stocking this year. Karma will get 'em," she said.
Critchley's farm isn't the only place that's experienced Christmas tree thefts this season. Earlier this month, someone took hundreds of dollars worth of trees from a volunteer fire department in Takoma Park, Maryland, that was selling them to support the fire station.
