Xmas trees all the rage

Christmas tree businesses did a roaring trade on the first weekend of December, with some saying 2020 is looking to be the busiest they have had.

Freshnbushy Christmas Trees coowner Mitchell Campbell said it was the busiest year he had seen in 27 years.

Their sales were up 50 to 60 per cent on last year across their six sites around Wellington, and he believed some of that was to do with coronavirus.

“We’ve found that a lot of people just want to get the tree up and get this year over and done with.”

He also thought there had been a movement away from plastic trees towards real trees as people felt nostalgic for the Christmases of their childhoods.

“Based on the last few years we really have changed as a society in how we do impact the environment by being so wasteful.

“For the most part we have a lot of people who are just going back to those grassroots of ‘ Well I had a real tree when I was younger and it was just a really nice happy time’.”

Freshnbushy Christmas trees has its farm in taki and sells trees across¯O six sites in Wellington.

Real Xmas trees owner Nathan Wilton – in the business for 30 years – said Christmas tree sales last weekend had been at least 25 per cent up on an equivalent weekend in 2019.

Campbell said customers should have no concerns about a tree not lasting until Christmas if bought early – they just need to tend it properly.

The most important thing was that it didn’t run out of water, he said.

A 1.8m to 2.1m tree would go through 3-4 litres in the first 48 hours.