Hardy's Reindeer Ranch brings holiday magic to central Illinois

RANTOUL, Ill. (WAND) — While children will soon get a visit from Santa and his reindeer, a farm in Rantoul is giving kids the chance to meet the reindeer up close and personal.

Hardy's Reindeer Ranch is complete with a cafe, a Christmas tree stove, and of course the stars of the show — the reindeer.

For the past 30 years, the Hardy's have been welcoming families to meet their reindeer and learn about the majestic animals.

"We work very hard not only to show people these wonderful animals, but also educate people on how we raise them and how we care for them," said Hardy's Reindeer Ranch Owner Julie Hardy.

Hardy said she and her husband brought the reindeer to Rantoul to help market their family Christmas tree farm.

"In my previous life before this, I was kind of in sales and marketing, and so I married this guy with a Christmas tree farm," said Hardy. "So I said, well, let's go to Alaska and buy a herd of reindeer. I think it might be a great attraction. It's so unique that a lot of people don't know they exist, so we pioneered kind of learning how to raise them on a midwest farm."

Now, each year thousands of visitors come to meet the animals, learn about them, and feed them treats of oats and graham crackers. If you're feeling brave, you can even give them a "reindeer kiss."

"There's such magical things about these animals, but it is the effect that they have on people, how friendly they are and how it delights people that really makes our season very merry here as well," said Hardy.

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