Photo by Deb Gau There were plenty of activities for the kids at a Lynd farm. Adley Thooft and Clara Dressen got a chance to hold a shed reindeer antler

LYND — Reindeer might be part of Christmas stories and music, but many Minnesotans haven’t had a chance to see a reindeer up close.

That was part of the draw for visitors to a rural Lynd farm over the weekend.

Kids and families stood by the fence around Red Stable Reindeer’s pen to watch reindeer Mika, Stella and Memphis. They also checked out displays of reindeer facts, and visitors like Adley Thooft and Clara Dressen got a chance to hold a shed antler.

“It wasn’t heavy,” the girls said.

Sunday’s “Christmas Day at the Farm” event was hosted by the Dan and Kelly Pochardt family, the owners of Red Stable Reindeer. Besides getting to see the reindeer and meet Santa, kids could do crafts and play yard games.

“This is the second year we’ve done it where people can bring their families out,” Kelly Pochardt said.

The event started as an experiment with friends and family coming to visit the reindeer, she said.

The Pochardts mainly raise cattle at their farm. But a couple of years ago, Dan had looked into the idea of raising deer as well, Kelly said. The Pochardts learned that reindeer are the only kind of domesticated deer, and they can be trained and led by people, she said.

“We liked the idea of taking them out for kids at Christmas,” Pochardt said. Over the past couple of years, Red Stable Reindeer has done events like school visits, and different Christmas celebrations in the region. They’ve gotten to see some “wonderful” holiday events and displays, she said.

So far, the Pochardts have three reindeer, although they hope they will have calves eventually.

Trying to plan this year’s farm event around a late harvest season and the December weather was a challenge, but it worked out with sun and milder temperatures on Sunday.

“We got really lucky today,” Kelly Pochardt said.

Red Stable Reindeer will be busy right up until Christmas, Pochardt said. After the Christmas on the Farm day, they had a couple more events planned like visits with school and day care groups, she said.