To think the 18th is not ridiculously late to buy a Christmas tree?

[PreRaphaeliteMotherhood]

There appears not to be a single (real) tree in our local area. We tried two garden centres, the greengrocer, and multiple lay-bys (all places that had them earlier in the month). We cannot be the last people to buy a tree. A week before is a totally normal time to put up a tree! I appreciate it’s been a weird year and lots of people have chosen to put them up early but to have none left at all seems quite extreme!

Not unreasonable at all. Growing up it went up on Xmas eve but now do it about a week before. They are still selling them round here. Hope you find one!
Related point - Whats with people (on here) taking them down on boxing day?? Christmas is 12 days (you know - like the song) STARTING on the 25th!

I agree TimeFlys. I've noticed a few retailers doing promotions that they are calling "The Twelve Days of Christmas" this year, with a different offer on in the 12 days pripr to Christmas. Definitely some confusion with Advent going on there!
We are an Anglo-Spanish family so we celebrate on 12th Night as well as Christmas Day and don't take the tree down until the next day as Christmas isn't over til then.

Not just the trees, my fairy lights have just gone kaput and I have been to three shops/garden centres so far with no luck!

Every year there is a pop up place in a pub car park in town. They sold out last week and have now cleared out. I can never remember that happening before.

Last Friday I took DD to B&M to find some small fairy lights for her friends birthday gift. The Christmas decoration aisle had been dismantled and was just storage boxes. No tree decorations, no ornaments. All gone.

The big garden centre here posted on Facebook about how it was giving away its last few trees to care homes and hospices in the area for free. They must have expected everyone to have theirs already.

We get ours from a Christmas tree farm. They won’t run out, little help to you. I agree it’s not late. I’m sure people who bought them on 1st December will be chucking out a brown twig on Boxing Day.

When we went last weekend to get ours, we saw someone returning their tree. Hmm, I thought you got that too early.

There's plenty at my local greengrocer in West London.

Growing up (and parents still) don't put the tree up until 23rd. We decorate it either 23rd in the evening or 24th in the morning.

Ours usually goes up two weekends before Christmas day. This year it was last Friday. I order my trees in about October and have used the same company for years. Two lovely chaps arrive with them and put them up, making sure they are perfectly straight. And they decorate them. Hideously expensive but they are gorgeous. Usually we have a party the last weekend before Christmas - would have been last Saturday

Normally not a problem but this year? Yep, never known so many people buying trees so early (and all our tree sellers opened earlier too)

Nothing left round where I am in the south east, we got ours on the 5th.

Pleased to report that our tree hunt was successful today. The local forestry commission place which is always our first port of call was sold out. I thought that was a bit ironic given it's in the middle of an enormous forest so surely they could cut a few more down? But we had a lovely lunch in the cafe anyway and then drove home via B&Q where we picked up a reduced 6-7 foot tree for a fiver. Quite a few places seemed to have trees outside or signs advertising them so I think there are still quite a few available around here.

@MrsAvocet We win! Just got a 7ft one from B&Q for £1! (And spent £7 on a saw to cut the bottom 2 ft off because it won’t fit in our house otherwise!)

😱 nice win!

Well played 😂

These last posts are the happiest news I've seen today!

I now wish I hadn't bothered. I was so looking forward to my DD coming home from Christmas but as she's in Scotland she now can't come. Decorating the tree has always been her job since she was tiny so we were going to leave the bulk of the decorations til she got home on 23rd. Except of course she now won't be coming at all and I'm heartbroken. Going to see if I can get her presents up by courier as I don't think Royal Mail will manage to get them there on time. It takes ages to the Highlands and Islands even under normal circumstances.

Oh I'm sorry.

Royal mail is overwhelmed with parcels where we are.

@mrsavocet I use parcel2go to search. Check them out, it's possible there will still be some before Christmas

@RosesAndHellebores

Ours usually goes up two weekends before Christmas day. This year it was last Friday. I order my trees in about October and have used the same company for years. Two lovely chaps arrive with them and put them up, making sure they are perfectly straight. And they decorate them. Hideously expensive but they are gorgeous. Usually we have a party the last weekend before Christmas - would have been last Saturday

Why would you pay someone to decorate your Christmas tree?! It's a Christmas ritual to decorate the year, just seems such a sad thing to outsource! I'd order in Christmas dinner before I paid someone to decorate my tree!

@AnotherEmma* because I work 12 hour days, hate doing it and want them to be beautiful. And because I can and it's a legitimate choice I have no need to apologise for.

I am thrilled you love doing it. I don't. Neither would I dream of subcontracting Christmas lunch but neither would I dream of criticising anyone else for doing it.

Fair enough, each to their own, just surprised you hate decorating the tree but of course we're all different aren't we.

We got ours today.
The ones at Dobbies were rejected as not good enough.

9 feet tall tree purchased from Morrisons for A LOT of £.
This time last year a tree of similar size was half the price.

I think it's the best time to get one if you have the time to pack it all in and it does mean the tree isn't shedding. But then you can reserve one and it's been cut at the same time as ever - but not in a heated house. Good luck.

Maybe a growing tree in a pot? That's what we have, no searching the loft and no buying every year.