CHRISTMAS TREE FARMS COME WITH ALL THE TRIMMINGS.

Byline: Christopher Noxon Daily News Staff Writer

Thanksgiving means more than turkey and stuffing to Lyn and Allen Ayers, the owners of a 12-acre farm where families choose and chop their own Christmas trees.

The dishes are barely dry before the first of thousands of families begin arriving. But this year, the expected throngs will find much more than Monterey, Aleppo and Redwood pines.

They will also find train rides, a Model-T car, hot cider and cakes, madrigal singers in full Elizabethan dress and perhaps a welcome from Lucy, Charlie and Candy, the resident family of deer.

The Ayers know that selling Christmas trees means more than handing over a saw and wishing a customer luck. While some purists stick to the basics, more and more Christmas tree farmers are luring customers to their crops with increasingly elaborate attractions.

Some farms offer visits with Santa, hayrides, petting zoos or picnic tables. One farmer lures customers with a jungle gym he built entirely out of inner tubes, said Mike Wade, executive director of California Christmas Tree Growers.

``People are looking for an event more than just a Christmas tree,'' he said. ``Growers want to make their farms a destination rather than just a place to do a chore.''

Attractions at the dozen or so choose-and-cut farms in Ventura County range from a card table set with cups of cider to a boutique selling fancy baubles and ornaments. The reason for the extras, said Faulkner Farm publicist Marisue Eastlake, is simple: Families want more than just a sharp ax and a pat on the back.

``Families are so busy now that they want to combine something they need with a fun outing,'' Eastlake said. ``We're not going to be Disneyland, but we try our hardest to make sure families have a good time.''

The sense of pageantry is also driven by competition and one-upmanship. A total of 15,260 trees grown in Ventura County were sold last year at an average prices of $25.49, according to the county's 1995 crop report. That was down sharply from the year before, when a total of 24,943 trees were sold at an average price of just $16.32.

Growers say they have to offer more than flocking and twine during a season when fewer trees sell for more money.

Marilyn Cameron and her husband have grown Christmas trees below power lines in Simi Valley and Thousand Oaks for 22 years. She's a nurse and he's a high school biology teacher, but their favorite work is growing and selling the trees. Certain people stick in her mind, like the family who always walks up with the kids in a red wagon or the man who always buys the bushiest tree on the farm.

``It's great to be part of so many people's Christmas,'' she said. ``It seems like a lot of families don't spend much time together, so this time is very special.''

But to stay in the business in a time of mounting costs and fewer customers, the farms now offer extras like picnic areas, free candy canes and rides on an old army Jeep.

``It's not really a hayride, but people like it,'' she said.

Some farmers, however, stick to the basics. Rick Brecunier, owner of the Tierra Rejada Ranch in Moorpark, said his customers can get their trees drilled and bundled or buy disposable bags or portable stands - but they won't find fancy boutiques or costumed carolers.

``But people like it here,'' he said. ``People really like getting out of the city and into the country and the nice fragrance. We really enjoy having people come out and share our place. That seems to be enough.''